Federated Hermes Inc. Has $26,000 Stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 52.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 217 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 2,987.5% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 419.4% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $138,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $178,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,225,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,553,970. The trade was a 25.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.47, for a total transaction of $3,307,050.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,428 shares in the company, valued at $7,369,871.16. The trade was a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $228.20 on Tuesday. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $68.53 and a one year high of $253.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 32.01 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan’s payout ratio is 21.04%.

Argan 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.