Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 2,748 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management reduced its holdings in Argan, Inc. by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, now owning 12,360 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• Despite the decrease from Martingale, several institutional investors, including Caitong International Asset Management, significantly increased their positions, with Caitong growing its stake by 16,640% to 837 shares valued at $110,000.
• Argan announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, yielding an annualized rate of 0.7%, and reported strong quarterly earnings with a beat on EPS estimates by $0.51.

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 18.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,360 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,748 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P owned about 0.09% of Argan worth $1,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 2,987.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 419.4% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Argan by 16,640.0% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 837 shares of the construction company's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter worth $138,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 12.7% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argan Stock Down 7.1%

Shares of NYSE:AGX traded down $17.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $224.99. 144,189 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 424,269. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.81 and a fifty-two week high of $253.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.62 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is presently 21.04%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,180,520.02. The trade was 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 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.