AQR Capital Management LLC Has $16.65 Million Holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 121,470 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 38,387 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.89% of Argan worth $16,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company's stock worth $92,170,000 after acquiring an additional 116,783 shares during the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $16,086,000 after purchasing an additional 87,038 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 83,039 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Argan by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,475,000 after purchasing an additional 80,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soros Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter worth $10,340,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.03, for a total value of $725,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,667,264.88. The trade was a 30.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,565 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 16.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,857 shares of company stock worth $1,308,133. Insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Argan Price Performance

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

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $232.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.