Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by Ranger Investment Management L.P.

Ranger Investment Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 54.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,592 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 63,289 shares during the quarter. Argan accounts for 2.1% of Ranger Investment Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Ranger Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 0.38% of Argan worth $29,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total transaction of $32,173,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,539,416.96. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. This represents a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 122,257 shares of company stock valued at $84,241,605 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.99% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE AGX opened at $523.11 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.00 and a 52 week high of $805.75. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $663.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $553.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.97 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $256.03 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc NYSE: AGX is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company's principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.

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