Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,681 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,690 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.21% of Argan worth $3,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 9.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,485,000 after purchasing an additional 82,585 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 529,052 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,502,000 after purchasing an additional 29,062 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,064,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Argan by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 133,494 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,294,000 after acquiring an additional 6,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 109,541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,011,000 after acquiring an additional 43,613 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock opened at $222.3430 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $218.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.28. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.81 and a 12 month high of $253.79. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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 price target on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $469,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,428 shares in the company, valued at $7,371,751.68. This represents a 5.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total transaction of $617,586.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,180,520.02. This trade represents a 22.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

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.