Swiss National Bank Sells 200 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,300 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of Argan worth $3,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Argan by 9.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $121,485,000 after purchasing an additional 82,585 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Argan by 6.9% in the first quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 8,995 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Argan in the first quarter worth $3,969,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in Argan by 86.2% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 2,756 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Argan in the first quarter worth $854,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $215.3440 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.81 and a twelve month high of $253.79. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $218.89 and a 200-day moving average of $176.07.

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. Argan had a return on equity of 29.61% and a net margin of 11.00%.The company had revenue of $193.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.75 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Kepler Capital Markets cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $202.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total value of $1,688,316.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,553,970. This trade represents a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366 in the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.