Keybank National Association OH Buys New Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 730 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Argan in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the third quarter valued at $32,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Argan by 26.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Stock Performance

AGX opened at $729.79 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $539.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $412.44. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $164.00 and a one year high of $742.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.93 and a beta of 0.61.

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

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

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 800 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.88, for a total transaction of $495,904.00. Following the sale, the director owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,940. The trade was a 61.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $664.84, for a total value of $1,793,738.32. Following the sale, the director owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,329,680. This trade represents a 57.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.40.

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.