Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 102,221 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 373.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 129,568 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,221 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $34,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 85,792 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $23,168,000 after buying an additional 16,052 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at about $19,322,000. Holderness Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Argan by 35.9% in the third quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 1,702 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Argan during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $413.14 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.66 and a beta of 0.57. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.02 and a 12 month high of $469.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $377.29 and a 200-day moving average of $323.15.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The business had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. Argan’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.04, for a total value of $328,040.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total value of $2,068,917.45. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,461,682.37. The trade was a 45.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 55,915 shares of company stock worth $20,182,794 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $355.20.

About Argan

Argan, Inc (NYSE: AGX) is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company’s principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.