Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its holdings in Argan, Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter, owning 130,282 shares valued at approximately $17 million.
• Argan's quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.60, exceeding estimates of $1.09, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 22.8%.
• Recent analyst ratings on Argan include a "neutral" rating from JPMorgan and a "buy" rating from Lake Street Capital, with the average target price set at $202.00.

Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,282 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,212 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.96% of Argan worth $17,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AGX. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $138,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 12.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,553,970. This trade represents a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Down 11.1%

Shares of NYSE AGX traded down $26.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $211.39. 1,439,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 345,880. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.14. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.80 and a 1-year high of $253.79. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.62.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.97 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.