Meeder Asset Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 6,702 Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 6,702 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 409,948 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Argan by 80.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 186,437 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,549,000 after purchasing an additional 83,039 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,475,000 after buying an additional 80,844 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Argan by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 480,658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $65,869,000 after buying an additional 73,654 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the third quarter worth about $6,687,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. CJS Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 7,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total value of $1,220,666.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,949,099.68. This trade represents a 38.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,050. This represents a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,185 shares of company stock valued at $1,644,859 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of Argan stock opened at $131.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50 and a beta of 0.58. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.85 and a 52-week high of $191.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.38.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.07. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $232.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.50 million. The firm’s revenue was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

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.