Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Acquired by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,862 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.15% of Argan worth $2,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anson Funds Management LP grew its holdings in Argan by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 27,128 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at $813,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at $3,932,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. 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 objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.00.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of Argan 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. This trade represents a 25.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $469,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,371,751.68. This represents a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,836 shares of company stock worth $6,380,666 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE AGX opened at $238.30 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $87.79 and a one year high of $253.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64 and a beta of 0.62.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The business had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan’s payout ratio is 18.03%.

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.