Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Position Lowered by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,478 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,082 shares during the quarter. Argan makes up about 1.4% of Legato Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Legato Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.57% of Argan worth $10,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at about $56,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at about $91,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total value of $1,460,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,491,050.55. This trade represents a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,050. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,185 shares of company stock worth $3,105,359. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE:AGX traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $148.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 187,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,946. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.93 and a fifty-two week high of $191.46. The firm's 50 day moving average is $150.79 and its 200-day moving average is $123.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01 and a beta of 0.56.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.74. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.60 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 56.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. CJS Securities restated a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

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.