Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Stake in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGXFree Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 610,899 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the period. Argan accounts for about 0.5% of Renaissance Technologies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $332,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% during 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 during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in Argan during the first quarter worth about $54,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.65, for a total value of $3,350,497.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,875,512. This trade represents a 40.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total transaction of $6,507,641.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,052,056.10. This trade represents a 19.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 134,105 shares of company stock valued at $91,724,081. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AGX. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

View Our Latest Stock Report on AGX

Argan Trading Down 6.0%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $566.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 49.77 and a beta of 0.57. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.00 and a twelve month high of $805.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $668.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $549.60.

Argan (NYSE:AGXGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. Argan’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Argan’s payout ratio is 17.57%.

About Argan

(Free Report)

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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Argan (NYSE:AGX)

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