Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 70.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,292 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,087 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Argan by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Argan by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 1.3% during the third quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.49, for a total value of $5,053,649.56. Following the sale, the director owned 41,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,834,342.55. This trade represents a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.65, for a total value of $3,350,497.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,875,512. This trade represents a 40.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 179,663 shares of company stock worth $119,410,408 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of Argan stock traded down $50.53 on Tuesday, reaching $674.70. 19,541 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 402,508. The company’s 50-day moving average is $689.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $522.65. The firm has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.17 and a beta of 0.57. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.90 and a 1-year high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

About Argan

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.