Delta Investment Management LLC Makes New $536,000 Investment in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Delta Investment Management LLC has made a new investment of $536,000 in Argan, Inc., acquiring 4,090 shares of the company's stock in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Argan, with one firm, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd, raising its position by 16,640.0% in the first quarter.
• Argan recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.60 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.7%.

Delta Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,090 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 2,987.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 419.4% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Argan by 16,640.0% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 837 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $138,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director James W. Quinn sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.92, for a total transaction of $8,316,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,442,531.44. This represents a 70.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.47, for a total transaction of $3,307,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,428 shares in the company, valued at $7,369,871.16. The trade was a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366 in the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $229.79 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.81 and a 52-week high of $253.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.04%.

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.

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