Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 58,390 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $8,002,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.43% of Argan as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings 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 lifted its holdings in Argan by 286.8% in the fourth quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 117,384 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,086,000 after acquiring an additional 87,038 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Argan by 80.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 186,437 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,549,000 after acquiring an additional 83,039 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Argan by 37.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,475,000 after acquiring an additional 80,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Argan by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 480,658 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $65,869,000 after acquiring an additional 73,654 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.03, for a total transaction of $725,150.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,496 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AGX traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $151.88. 287,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 301,515. The business has a 50-day moving average of $130.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.05. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.03 and a twelve month high of $191.46. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77 and a beta of 0.45.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $232.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.50 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.