Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 36,041 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 36.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,567 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 36,041 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.46% of Argan worth $6,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AGX. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Argan by 31.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 305,298 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $22,336,000 after buying an additional 73,658 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,245,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 72.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 114,224 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,586,000 after purchasing an additional 47,881 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,783,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,168,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director now owns 35,852 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,962.40. This represents a 21.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total transaction of $602,383.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 236,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,015,962.45. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,703 shares of company stock worth $4,257,794 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of Argan stock traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $147.12. 800,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,746. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.74 and a 1-year high of $165.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $134.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 46.95 and a beta of 0.53.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.74. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The company had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.60 million. The company's revenue was up 56.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Argan's payout ratio is presently 47.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AGX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, CJS Securities restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Argan in a research report on Friday.

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.