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 trimmed its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,970 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 22,500 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.73% of Argan worth $12,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Argan by 2,987.5% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Argan by 419.4% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Argan during the first quarter worth $109,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Argan by 16,640.0% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 837 shares of the construction company's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 12.7% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $210.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $469,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,371,751.68. The trade was a 5.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,242,711.08. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,836 shares of company stock worth $6,380,666 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

AGX traded down $1.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $230.80. 305,562 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,197. The company's fifty day moving average price is $223.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.62. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.79 and a fifty-two week high of $253.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.03%.

Argan 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.