Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX – Free Report) by 16.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84,520 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 16,577 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $46,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Argan Stock Up 9.3%
Shares of AGX stock opened at $602.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $678.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $543.41. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.90 and a fifty-two week high of $805.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.95 and a beta of 0.57.
Argan announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Argan Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 17.57%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,084,550.70. This represents a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Karen Sweeney sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,340. The trade was a 16.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 134,105 shares of company stock worth $91,724,081. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AGX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Argan
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.
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