SurgoCap Partners LP Makes New $119.77 Million Investment in Argan, Inc. $AGX

SurgoCap Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 149,983 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,769,000. Argan comprises about 3.9% of SurgoCap Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AGX. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Argan by 12.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Argan by 118.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,665,000 after buying an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total value of $15,208,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,159,379.68. This trade represents a 32.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,411,120. This trade represents a 29.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828. Company insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Down 6.5%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $469.15 on Tuesday. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.00 and a twelve month high of $805.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.23 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $628.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $581.86.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 17.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Argan from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

Argan Company Profile

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.