Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Purchases New Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased 6,670 shares of Argan, Inc. valued at approximately $875,000, indicating a growing interest in the construction company's stock.
• Argan reported a $2.50 EPS for the quarter, significantly beating analysts' expectations of $1.99 and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.7%.
• Insider transactions revealed that directors and executives sold over 56,564 shares of Argan stock worth approximately $12.73 million in the last 90 days.

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,670 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $875,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Argan by 9.8% in the 1st 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. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Argan by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 529,052 shares of the construction company's stock worth $72,502,000 after buying an additional 29,062 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Argan by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 517,302 shares of the construction company's stock worth $67,855,000 after buying an additional 36,644 shares in the last quarter. Goodlander Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter worth about $18,364,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Argan by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 133,494 shares of the construction company's stock worth $18,294,000 after buying an additional 6,483 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total value of $1,688,316.12. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. This represents a 13.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.77, for a total transaction of $389,403.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 7,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,894,091.54. This trade represents a 17.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,836 shares of company stock worth $6,380,666 in the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $210.00.

Argan Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AGX stock traded down $1.80 on Friday, reaching $230.80. The stock had a trading volume of 305,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,454. The firm's 50-day moving average is $223.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74 and a beta of 0.62. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.79 and a 12 month high of $253.79.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan's payout ratio is currently 18.03%.

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.