Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Increases Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 51.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 193,808 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 65,509 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $60,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at $18,847,215.20. This represents a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 6,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,302,380.92. This trade represents a 30.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of Argan stock opened at $642.73 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 56.48 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $645.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $478.34. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.82 and a 1 year high of $779.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 17.57%.

Argan announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan 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.