Man Group plc Invests $1.79 Million in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,237 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,786,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Argan by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,854 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 118.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 2,881 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 13.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 37.3% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at about $286,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $405.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.60 and a beta of 0.58. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $197.00 and a one year high of $805.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $592.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $584.67.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business’s revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 paid 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 yield of 0.5%. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 17.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AGX. Weiss Ratings raised Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their price target on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $666.31, for a total transaction of $1,729,740.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,144 shares in the company, valued at $15,421,078.64. This trade represents a 10.09% 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 link. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of Argan 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares in the company, valued at $58,539,416.96. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828. Corporate insiders own 2.99% 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.