Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys 27,064 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 357.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,639 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,064 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.26% of Argan worth $3,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AGX. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Argan by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,426 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Argan by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 726,171 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $36,701,000 after purchasing an additional 12,162 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 131,987 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Argan by 10.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,656 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total value of $962,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,448,962.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $962,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,448,962.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Argan Trading Down 2.3 %

AGX traded down $3.48 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.66. 219,567 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 168,387. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 47.42 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $113.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.71. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.74 and a 1 year high of $162.78.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 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 analysts' expectations of $191.05 million. Argan's 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. This is a boost from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

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.