Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Contravisory Investment Management Inc. has invested $319,000 in Argan, Inc., purchasing 1,448 shares during the second quarter.
• Argan recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.38 to $0.50, with the dividend payout ratio at 18.03%.
• Research firm Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, while the company currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $210.00.

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,448 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Argan by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 31,086 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,078,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 18,599 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,756 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Argan by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 11,100 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of Argan stock traded up $8.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $268.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 297,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,932. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.26 and a 12-month high of $269.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $228.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.86.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.97 million. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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, September 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 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Glj Research started coverage on Argan in a research note on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $220.25.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Karen Sweeney sold 390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.25, for a total transaction of $103,057.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $347,488.75. The trade was a 22.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $1,930,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,406,734.34. The trade was a 26.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,892 shares of company stock valued at $13,349,949 in the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.