Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by Moody Aldrich Partners LLC

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,044 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,609 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $1,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the first quarter worth about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Argan by 2,950.0% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Argan in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Broker raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.00.

Argan Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:AGX opened at $356.38 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $276.28 and a 12-month high of $805.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $392.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $516.85.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%. The firm had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 13.72 EPS for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 22.15%.

About Argan

Argan, Inc is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance services for the power generation and renewable energy industries. Its work supports the development, construction and improvement of utility-scale energy infrastructure.

Through its subsidiaries, Argan offers engineering and construction management, project development support, procurement, installation, startup and commissioning services. Its projects have included natural gas-fired power plants, solar and other renewable energy facilities, and related industrial and electrical infrastructure.

Argan’s principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services for power generation and renewable energy projects, and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering, project management and construction-related services.