Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Bought by Quantum Portfolio Management LLC

Quantum Portfolio Management LLC lifted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,084 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,638 shares during the quarter. Argan makes up 0.9% of Quantum Portfolio Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new position in Argan in the 1st quarter valued at about $667,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 810.0% in the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 69,184 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,075,000 after acquiring an additional 61,581 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Argan in the first quarter valued at approximately $551,000. Delta Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the first quarter valued at approximately $536,000. Finally, Hartree Partners LP bought a new stake in Argan during the first quarter worth approximately $2,361,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.73, for a total value of $3,242,363.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,668,864.82. This represents a 23.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.39, for a total transaction of $1,911,474.27. Following the sale, the director owned 9,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,913,577.83. This represents a 39.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 106,795 shares of company stock worth $29,401,111. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Down 12.4%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $312.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.78 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $315.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $254.87. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.02 and a 52-week high of $399.30.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.50 million. Argan had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 13.11%.Argan’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AGX shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on Argan in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Glj Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.20.

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.