New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $8.46 Million Stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,521 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.47% of Argan worth $8,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AGX. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $8,002,000. Amundi lifted its position in Argan by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 859 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $333,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Argan by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 26,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argan Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $206.89 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.53 and a 52 week high of $246.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $207.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02 and a beta of 0.54.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%. The business had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total value of $1,688,316.12. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.01, for a total transaction of $732,706.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,157,888.95. This trade represents a 18.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 85,404 shares of company stock worth $18,221,387. Corporate insiders own 6.69% 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.