Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $2.53 Million Stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 43.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,444 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 5,604 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of Argan worth $2,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AGX. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 81.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 911,056 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,408,000 after purchasing an additional 409,948 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 80.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 186,437 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,549,000 after purchasing an additional 83,039 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,687,000. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,241,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,002,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AGX. Lake Street Capital lowered shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. CJS Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 7,385 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total transaction of $1,220,666.65. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,949,099.68. This trade represents a 38.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total transaction of $1,460,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,491,050.55. This represents a 16.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,185 shares of company stock valued at $3,105,359. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $120.67 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.85 and a 52-week high of $191.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $144.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.75.

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.