Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Stake Boosted by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 537,296 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,300 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 4.02% of Argan worth $39,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AGX. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $95,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 3,321.4% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,860 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 84.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $251,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $258,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $88.55 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.74 and a 12-month high of $95.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.81.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.05 million. Argan had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 6.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 15,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.79, for a total transaction of $1,177,273.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 44,348 shares in the company, valued at $3,449,830.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.52, for a total value of $1,788,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,916 shares in the company, valued at $19,590,472.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 15,134 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.79, for a total value of $1,177,273.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 44,348 shares in the company, valued at $3,449,830.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 83,539 shares of company stock valued at $6,341,435. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th.

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.