1,385 Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX Bought by Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,385 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $434,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 118.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at $286,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AGX. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $720.64 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.10 and a 52-week high of $742.30. The stock has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.99 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $533.31 and a 200-day moving average of $409.39.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 20.53%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 19,310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.11, for a total transaction of $11,626,744.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 49,998 shares in the company, valued at $30,104,295.78. This trade represents a 27.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total transaction of $2,459,556.60. Following the sale, the director owned 3,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,962,894.60. This trade represents a 55.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have 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.