M&T Bank Corp Acquires Shares of 1,526 Argan, Inc. $AGX

M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,526 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,992 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,113 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 152,721 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,851,000 after purchasing an additional 44,837 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

AGX opened at $681.28 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $171.59 and a 12 month high of $742.30. The stock has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.95 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $557.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $423.80.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The firm had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.53%.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AGX. Freedom Capital raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.40.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total value of $6,879,979.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at $18,847,215.20. This trade represents a 26.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total value of $1,885,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,302,380.92. This represents a 30.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

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.