Advisory Services Network LLC Buys Shares of 2,098 Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,098 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company's stock worth $92,170,000 after purchasing an additional 116,783 shares in the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 286.8% during the 4th quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 117,384 shares of the construction company's stock worth $16,086,000 after acquiring an additional 87,038 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 80.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 186,437 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,549,000 after acquiring an additional 83,039 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Argan by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,475,000 after acquiring an additional 80,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Argan by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 480,658 shares of the construction company's stock worth $65,869,000 after purchasing an additional 73,654 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,292 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.35, for a total value of $344,602.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,325. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th.

Argan Stock Down 11.1 %

NYSE AGX traded down $16.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $129.83. The company had a trading volume of 607,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,828. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.16 and a beta of 0.45. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.03 and a fifty-two week high of $191.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.07. The company had revenue of $232.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.50 million. Argan had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 8.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.55%.

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.