9,812 Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX Acquired by TrueMark Investments LLC

Key Points

• TrueMark Investments LLC acquired 9,812 shares of Argan, Inc. valued at approximately $2.16 million, increasing its stake to 0.07% of the company.
• Argan's stock has decreased by 4.4%, with a current market cap of $3.91 billion and a PE ratio of 34.04.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.50 per share, representing a yield of 0.7%, up from the previous $0.38.

TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,812 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,163,000. TrueMark Investments LLC owned 0.07% of Argan as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Argan by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the construction company's stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $667,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Argan by 810.0% during the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 69,184 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,075,000 after purchasing an additional 61,581 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 362.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the construction company's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $551,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Stock Down 4.4%

AGX stock opened at $283.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $247.52 and a 200-day moving average of $211.58. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.02 and a 12-month high of $320.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Argan's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.03%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.73, for a total transaction of $3,242,363.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,668,864.82. This represents a 23.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.09, for a total value of $2,920,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,135,642.54. This trade represents a 32.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,027 shares of company stock valued at $29,968,996 in the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. Glj Research initiated coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.20.

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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