Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lessened its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,171 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 787 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Argan were worth $1,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,847,215.20. This represents a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total transaction of $1,885,080.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,302,380.92. This trade represents a 30.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE AGX opened at $719.34 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.63 and a 1 year high of $748.50. The company has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a PE ratio of 73.85 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $574.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $432.07.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The company had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Argan’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

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.