Meritage Portfolio Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,147 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Argan were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth $488,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Argan by 27.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 107,825 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,888,000 after buying an additional 23,168 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Argan by 70.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,095 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 4,179 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Argan by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,552 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $918,000 after buying an additional 5,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,628,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. CJS Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Argan in a report on Friday, December 6th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $143.07 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.47 and a 52-week high of $191.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.37.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.74. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.60 million. The company’s revenue was up 56.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is 31.38%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total value of $1,460,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,491,050.55. This represents a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,050. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,185 shares of company stock worth $3,105,359 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.