Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 95.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,500 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 33,166 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 12.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Argan by 118.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Argan by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,665,000 after buying an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Argan by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,716 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total transaction of $3,313,222.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,468,228.12. This trade represents a 69.29% 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 Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,411,120. The trade was a 29.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $597.43 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $651.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $567.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 52.50 and a beta of 0.61. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.00 and a 1-year high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The company 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%.Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

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.