Entropy Technologies LP Acquires New Position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP acquired 4,197 shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the first quarter, valued at approximately $551,000.
• Institutional investors hold 79.43% of Argan's stock, with notable increases in holdings from multiple firms, including Larson Financial Group and Federated Hermes.
• Argan recently reported a strong quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.60, exceeding expectations, with a 22.8% year-over-year revenue increase.

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,197 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $551,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter worth $667,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the construction company's stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Argan by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company's stock worth $121,485,000 after buying an additional 82,585 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 8,995 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter worth $3,969,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:AGX traded down $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $223.45. The company had a trading volume of 320,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 425,538. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.65. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.81 and a 1 year high of $253.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34 and a beta of 0.59.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. Argan had a return on equity of 29.61% and a net margin of 11.00%. The company had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.75 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $469,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,428 shares in the company, valued at $7,371,751.68. This trade represents a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total value of $617,586.23. Following the sale, the director owned 9,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,180,520.02. This represents a 22.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.