AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 22,500 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Argan, Inc. by 18.5%, selling 22,500 shares during the most recent quarter, bringing its total holdings to 98,970 shares valued at approximately $12.98 million.
• Argan's Q3 earnings exceeded analysts' expectations with an EPS of $2.50, while the company's revenue rose by 4.7% year-over-year, reaching $237.74 million.
• Insider activity saw significant sales, including CEO Charles Collins selling 5,000 shares at an average price of $245, representing a decline in his ownership by 25.63%.

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 18.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,970 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 22,500 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.73% of Argan worth $12,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Argan by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 133,494 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $18,294,000 after buying an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Argan by 815.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 77,460 shares of the construction company's stock worth $10,615,000 after purchasing an additional 68,995 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Argan by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 15,436 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 29,062 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Argan by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 104,951 shares of the construction company's stock worth $14,382,000 after acquiring an additional 35,355 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,456 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.01, for a total value of $732,706.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $3,157,888.95. This trade represents a 18.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total transaction of $617,586.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,180,520.02. This trade represents a 22.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,836 shares of company stock valued at $6,380,666. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AGX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital boosted 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $210.00.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX traded up $8.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $238.72. 396,759 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 388,454. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $224.18 and a 200 day moving average of $187.18. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.79 and a 52-week high of $253.79.

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

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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is 18.03%.

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.