Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stock Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in Argan, Inc. by 16.6% during the first quarter, holding 28,681 shares valued at approximately $3.76 million.
• Argan reported $1.60 EPS for the latest quarter, beating analyst estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 22.8% to $193.66 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 21.04%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,681 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,690 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.21% of Argan worth $3,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in Argan by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 31,086 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,078,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Argan by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Argan by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,756 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,067,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Argan by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 11,100 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Argan by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 64,521 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $8,463,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total value of $617,586.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,180,520.02. This represents a 22.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the 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 $3,553,970. The trade was a 25.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366 in the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX traded up $15.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $242.24. The company had a trading volume of 493,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,377. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.97 and a beta of 0.59. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.81 and a 12-month high of $253.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $220.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.35.

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

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Argan Company 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.