Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Argan, Inc., selling 1,831 shares during the first quarter, which accounts for an 80.8% decrease in their holdings.
• Argan, Inc. reported earnings of $1.60 per share, beating expectations and demonstrating a 22.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The stock has shown some volatility, reaching a 52-week high of $253.79 while currently trading around $227.23, reflecting a market cap of $3.10 billion.

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 80.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 435 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,831 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Argan were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Argan by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 133,494 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $18,294,000 after purchasing an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at about $707,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at about $23,064,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $237,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,150,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,225,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,553,970. This represents a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 13,728 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.58, for a total transaction of $3,041,850.24. Following the sale, the director owned 196,723 shares in the company, valued at $43,589,882.34. The trade was a 6.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $210.00.

Argan Trading Down 3.1%

NYSE:AGX traded down $6.65 on Monday, hitting $204.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 402,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,958. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $222.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71 and a beta of 0.62. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $86.98 and a one year high of $253.79.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $243.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Argan's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is 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.