1,117 Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX Bought by Chicago Capital LLC

Key Points

• Chicago Capital LLC acquired 1,117 shares of Argan, Inc. valued at approximately $246,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Argan's quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $2.50, surpassing estimates, while the company also announced a dividend increase to $0.50 per share.
• Analysts are mixed on Argan, with an average rating of "Hold" and target prices ranging from $220.00 to $260.00, reflecting uncertainty in the stock's near-term performance.

Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,117 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Goodlander Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter worth about $18,364,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Argan during the first quarter valued at approximately $11,307,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Argan by 9.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $121,485,000 after acquiring an additional 82,585 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter valued at $9,958,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 258.0% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 101,181 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $13,272,000 after purchasing an additional 72,922 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Glj Research initiated coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Argan in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $220.25.

Argan Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $270.11 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $235.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.66. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47 and a beta of 0.62. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.76 and a 12 month high of $279.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The company had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan's payout ratio is presently 18.03%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total transaction of $617,586.23. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,180,520.02. The trade was a 22.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,609 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $625,325.12. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,896 shares in the company, valued at $3,090,913.28. This represents a 16.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,781 shares of company stock worth $11,632,183. Insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

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.

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