Aristides Capital LLC Decreases Position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Aristides Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,024 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,980 shares during the quarter. Aristides Capital LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Argan worth $1,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the second quarter worth approximately $2,628,000. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Argan during the second quarter worth approximately $878,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 32.8% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 175,245 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,811,000 after purchasing an additional 43,258 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Argan during the second quarter worth approximately $1,273,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in Argan during the second quarter worth approximately $293,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AGX opened at $101.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.35. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.74 and a 12-month high of $103.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.05 million. Argan had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 6.11%. The business’s revenue was up 60.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.375 dividend. 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 1.48%. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 53.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $481,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,631.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $481,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,631.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 35,852 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,962.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,539 shares of company stock valued at $7,785,385. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Argan Company 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.