Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 10.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,021 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,451 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.15% of Argan worth $1,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AGX. Shaker Investments LLC OH bought a new stake in Argan in the second quarter worth about $1,159,000. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at $293,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 112,979 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,266,000 after acquiring an additional 3,314 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth $1,831,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter valued at $251,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Argan stock opened at $95.89 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.74 and a 1 year high of $97.17. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.49.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total transaction of $896,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 70,422 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,444.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total value of $896,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,422 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,444.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 25,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.52, for a total transaction of $1,788,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,590,472.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,539 shares of company stock worth $6,341,435 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th.

About Argan

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.