Martingale Asset Management L P Lowers Stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,249 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,260 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Argan were worth $1,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Argan by 21.5% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,446,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 7,923 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $339,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $155.94 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $130.07 and its 200 day moving average is $94.49. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.74 and a 1 year high of $165.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.04 and a beta of 0.49.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $227.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.05 million. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. Argan’s revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Argan’s payout ratio is 47.17%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $481,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,670,631.48. This represents a 22.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total transaction of $602,383.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 236,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,015,962.45. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

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.