Prakash Investment Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 4,910 Argan, Inc. $AGX

Prakash Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 4,910 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,000. Argan comprises 0.9% of Prakash Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AGX. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $14,138,000. Thames Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan in the third quarter valued at $11,175,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Argan by 125.3% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,377,000 after buying an additional 6,955 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at $971,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,772,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock opened at $432.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 50.93 and a beta of 0.63. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.02 and a 12 month high of $449.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $351.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.45.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The company had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 23.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, December 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Argan in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Lake Street Capital downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Glj Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total value of $4,187,332.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,934,371.85. This trade represents a 18.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.78, for a total value of $1,803,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,509.76. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 55,915 shares of company stock valued at $20,182,794 over the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.