Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 12,640 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,777,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Argan in the third quarter worth about $1,247,000. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $434,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Argan by 6,787.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,898,000 after purchasing an additional 49,274 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its position in Argan by 16.3% during the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 7,410 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Finally, BOKF NA lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 2,199 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Freedom Broker raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 18th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Argan in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.00.

Argan Trading Down 10.6%

AGX stock opened at $259.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.64. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $252.88 and a 12 month high of $805.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $376.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $516.45.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. The business had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 13.72 EPS for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 22nd. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.15%.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance services for the power generation and renewable energy industries. Its work supports the development, construction and improvement of utility-scale energy infrastructure.

Through its subsidiaries, Argan offers engineering and construction management, project development support, procurement, installation, startup and commissioning services. Its projects have included natural gas-fired power plants, solar and other renewable energy facilities, and related industrial and electrical infrastructure.

Argan’s principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services for power generation and renewable energy projects, and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering, project management and construction-related services.