Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 1,541 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 31.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,309 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,541 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Argan were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 859 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its stake in Argan by 0.4% in the first 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 period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,042 shares of the construction company's stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Argan by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,763 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,668,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Argan by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 11,100 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock traded up $3.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $212.40. The company had a trading volume of 461,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,867. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.54. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.53 and a 52 week high of $246.60.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is 21.04%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 13,728 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.58, for a total transaction of $3,041,850.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 196,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,589,882.34. The trade was a 6.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.47, for a total value of $3,307,050.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,369,871.16. This represents a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,696 shares of company stock valued at $19,291,140. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th.

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.