Sculptor Capital LP Invests $76.26 Million in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Sculptor Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 95,500 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,262,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $450.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $624.07 and a 200 day moving average of $582.53. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.00 and a 12 month high of $805.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.56 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Argan from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total transaction of $3,313,222.24. Following the sale, the director owned 2,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,468,228.12. This represents a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.65, for a total transaction of $3,350,497.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,875,512. This trade represents a 40.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

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.