1,385 Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX Purchased by Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 1,385 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $434,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total transaction of $1,885,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,847 shares in the company, valued at $4,302,380.92. The trade was a 30.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 800 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.88, for a total transaction of $495,904.00. Following the sale, the director owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,940. This represents a 61.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AGX shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.40.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $720.64 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $162.10 and a one year high of $742.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $533.31 and a 200-day moving average of $409.39. The stock has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.99 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The company had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Argan’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 20.53%.

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.