DAVENPORT & Co LLC Makes New Investment in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• DAVENPORT & Co LLC invested approximately $360,000 in Argan, Inc. by purchasing 1,633 shares during the 2nd quarter.
• Argan recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.50, up from the previous $0.38, with a dividend yield of 0.8%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Argan shares, with a target price averaging around $220.25.

DAVENPORT & Co LLC 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,633 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Argan by 26.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the first quarter worth about $667,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 810.0% in the first quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 69,184 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,075,000 after buying an additional 61,581 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 362.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 3,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $551,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AGX. Glj Research started coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $220.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.00, for a total value of $1,335,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,608,602. This represents a 19.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.73, for a total transaction of $3,242,363.46. Following the transaction, the director owned 38,834 shares in the company, valued at $10,668,864.82. The trade was a 23.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,027 shares of company stock valued at $23,954,396 over the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $256.28 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $241.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.47. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.02 and a 1 year high of $283.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The business had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.97 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is 18.03%.

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.

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