Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC

Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,593 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,720 shares during the period. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Argan by 22.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Argan by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,036 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Argan by 6.5% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,354 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AGX. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Glj Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total value of $2,068,917.45. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,461,682.37. This represents a 45.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total value of $4,187,332.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,934,371.85. This trade represents a 18.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,915 shares of company stock worth $20,182,794. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $462.54 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $101.02 and a one year high of $469.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 54.48 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $373.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $319.58.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.50 million. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 23.56%.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc (NYSE: AGX) is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company’s principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.