Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $7.74 Million Stock Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 84.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,664 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,109 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $7,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth $44,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Argan by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 1,116.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AGX opened at $411.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.41 and a beta of 0.63. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.02 and a 1-year high of $449.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $344.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $300.48.

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. The firm had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd were issued 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 yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Argan in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Lake Street Capital downgraded 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 report on Friday, December 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.78, for a total transaction of $1,803,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,955,509.76. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total value of $2,068,917.45. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,461,682.37. This represents a 45.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,915 shares of company stock valued at $20,182,794. 6.69% of the stock is owned by 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.