3,854 Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX Acquired by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,854 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,078,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 2.0% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Argan by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 0.6% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,030 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the first quarter valued at $25,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Trading Down 3.0%

Argan stock opened at $579.67 on Tuesday. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.00 and a 1-year high of $805.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $649.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $569.22. The company has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. Argan’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 17.57%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. This represents a 33.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karen Sweeney sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,548 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,340. The trade was a 16.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Lake Street Capital lifted 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 Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

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.