Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $443,000 in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,229 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,796 shares of the construction company's stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,552 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,446,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Argan by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,016 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,606,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Stock Down 6.9 %

Shares of Argan stock traded down $8.96 on Monday, hitting $121.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 409,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,924. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40 and a beta of 0.56. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.15 and a 52-week high of $191.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.19.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is currently 31.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,491,050.55. This represents a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 7,385 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total transaction of $1,220,666.65. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,949,099.68. This trade represents a 38.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 11.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.