Palisades Investment Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Palisades Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,820 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth about $44,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 1,116.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in Argan by 322.2% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Down 4.4%

AGX stock opened at $363.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $340.77 and a 200 day moving average of $284.28. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.02 and a twelve month high of $400.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 42.81 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Glj Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. CJS Securities raised 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 research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total value of $7,347,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,207 shares in the company, valued at $10,134,246.90. This trade represents a 42.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 50,915 shares of company stock worth $18,378,894 over the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.