CastleKnight Management LP Takes $1.71 Million Position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

CastleKnight Management LP acquired a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,500 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,713,000. CastleKnight Management LP owned about 0.09% of Argan as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,064,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Argan by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $92,170,000 after acquiring an additional 116,783 shares during the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 286.8% during the fourth quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 117,384 shares of the construction company's stock worth $16,086,000 after purchasing an additional 87,038 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Argan by 80.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 186,437 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,549,000 after purchasing an additional 83,039 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Argan by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,475,000 after buying an additional 80,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.03, for a total transaction of $725,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,667,264.88. This represents a 30.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,565 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.32, for a total transaction of $238,380.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,188,400.64. The trade was a 16.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,857 shares of company stock worth $1,308,133 over the last ninety days. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE:AGX traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $169.91. 225,608 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 309,780. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $136.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.38. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.53 and a 1 year high of $191.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.07. Argan had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $232.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.50 million. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 41.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.55%.

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.