American Century Companies Inc. Trims Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 492,694 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 24,608 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.61% of Argan worth $108,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $71,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the first quarter worth approximately $109,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Argan by 16,640.0% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 837 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the second quarter worth approximately $170,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $371.88 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $298.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 44.70 and a beta of 0.64. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.02 and a 12 month high of $399.30.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $315.00 price target on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $220.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Glj Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Argan in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.00.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.96, for a total transaction of $4,079,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,467,758.88. The trade was a 47.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 4,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.01, for a total transaction of $1,230,201.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 47,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,210,883.91. This trade represents a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 106,795 shares of company stock valued at $29,401,111. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.