Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,539 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,373,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Argan as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Argan by 81.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 911,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $92,408,000 after buying an additional 409,948 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 305,298 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,336,000 after acquiring an additional 73,658 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,245,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,687,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Argan by 72.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 114,224 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,586,000 after purchasing an additional 47,881 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. CJS Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $149.02 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $43.44 and a one year high of $165.33. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $146.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.05.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,291 shares in the company, valued at $7,491,050.55. This trade represents a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total transaction of $1,314,660.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 219,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,606,257.90. This represents a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,703 shares of company stock valued at $3,377,544. 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.