Azarias Capital Management L.P. Sells 11,806 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Azarias Capital Management L.P. lessened its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,719 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 11,806 shares during the period. Argan makes up approximately 3.6% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Azarias Capital Management L.P. owned about 1.27% of Argan worth $8,527,000 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 stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $280,000. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Argan by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 6,321 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Up 0.6 %

AGX stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $72.03. The company had a trading volume of 91,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,013. The company has a market capitalization of $961.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 0.51. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.37 and a 12-month high of $78.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.15.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The construction company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $157.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.75 million. Argan had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The business’s revenue was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.05) EPS.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 42.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.99, for a total transaction of $899,850.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $848,858.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Mano S. Koilpillai sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.79, for a total value of $166,833.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,098.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.99, for a total transaction of $899,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at $848,858.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,106 shares of company stock worth $4,662,427. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AGX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Lake Street Capital upped their target price on shares of Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th.

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.