3,344 Shares in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,344 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Argan by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 726,171 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,701,000 after buying an additional 12,162 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Argan by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,656 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 84.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in Argan by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 29,062 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,126,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $397,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $149.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.14 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $132.36 and its 200-day moving average is $95.90. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.74 and a 1 year high of $165.33.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.05 million. Argan had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 6.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 47.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AGX. StockNews.com downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Lake Street Capital downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total transaction of $1,314,660.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 219,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,606,257.90. This represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total value of $962,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,448,962.40. This trade represents a 21.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794. 11.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Argan Profile

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.