WCM Investment Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 59,320 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,241,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Argan during the third quarter worth $56,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. CJS Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Lake Street Capital downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $161.67 on Monday. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.69 and a 52 week high of $191.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82 and a beta of 0.56.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $225.60 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 56.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.38%.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,491,050.55. This trade represents a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 7,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total transaction of $1,220,666.65. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,949,099.68. This trade represents a 38.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,185 shares of company stock worth $3,105,359. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Argan

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.