Argan, Inc. $AGX Stock Holdings Reduced by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,319 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 21,283 shares during the period. Argan accounts for about 1.1% of Legato Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $12,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jag Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $291,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Argan by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,473,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Argan by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,567,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AGX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $654.99 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.26 and a fifty-two week high of $748.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.25 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $594.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $444.28.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The business had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.53%.

Argan announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.84, for a total value of $1,793,738.32. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,680. This trade represents a 57.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total transaction of $1,885,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,302,380.92. This trade represents a 30.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956. Insiders own 6.69% 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.