Kaizen Financial Strategies Lowers Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Kaizen Financial Strategies decreased its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 24.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,581 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 842 shares during the period. Argan comprises about 0.7% of Kaizen Financial Strategies’ holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Kaizen Financial Strategies’ holdings in Argan were worth $1,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.49, for a total value of $5,053,649.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 41,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,834,342.55. This trade represents a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total value of $32,173,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 90,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,539,416.96. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 179,663 shares of company stock worth $119,410,408 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX traded down $56.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $631.42. The company had a trading volume of 308,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 317,320. The stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.48 and a beta of 0.57. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $196.90 and a one year high of $805.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $691.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $530.98.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 17.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AGX. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

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.