Norris Financial Group LLC Invests $4.85 Million in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Norris Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 8,904 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,850,000. Argan makes up approximately 1.6% of Norris Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AGX. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Argan by 2,950.0% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $579.70 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $659.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $557.02. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.00 and a 1-year high of $805.75. The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.94 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.Argan’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.57%.

Argan announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Argan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total value of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,550.70. The trade was a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,411,120. This trade represents a 29.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 122,257 shares of company stock valued at $84,241,605 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.99% 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.