Wellington Management Group LLP Makes New $12.76 Million Investment in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,975 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.11% of Argan at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $312,000. Glenview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $946,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,490,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,410,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total transaction of $3,313,222.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,468,228.12. This trade represents a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total value of $15,208,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 40,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,159,379.68. This represents a 32.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828. 2.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $417.52 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $565.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $584.75. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.00 and a 1-year high of $805.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. The company had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 13.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Freedom Broker raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

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.