Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Decreases Stake in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,755 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 31,910 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Argan were worth $42,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Argan by 22.0% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Argan by 3,200.0% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 1,116.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Glj Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective for the company. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $355.20.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $432.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.93 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $351.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.45. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $101.02 and a one year high of $449.90.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total transaction of $7,347,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,134,246.90. This represents a 42.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total transaction of $2,068,917.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,461,682.37. The trade was a 45.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 55,915 shares of company stock worth $20,182,794 in 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.