Nkcfo LLC Invests $247,000 in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Nkcfo LLC acquired a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,800 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth about $56,000. KBC Group NV bought a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 68.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

AGX stock traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $144.04. 192,453 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 495,367. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.93 and a 52-week high of $191.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $150.82 and a 200-day moving average of $125.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13 and a beta of 0.56.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 8.20%. The business had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.60 million. The firm'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 dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.24, for a total transaction of $124,192.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,177 shares in the company, valued at $2,977,037.48. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,050. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,185 shares of company stock worth $3,105,359 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, CJS Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

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.