GSA Capital Partners LLP Buys New Stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP invested approximately $854,000 in Argan, Inc. by acquiring 6,513 shares during the first quarter.
• Research firm Lake Street Capital upgraded Argan's price target from $150.00 to $236.00, reflecting a "buy" rating.
• Argan announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, translating to an annual dividend of $1.50 and a yield of 0.7%.

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,513 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $854,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 13.2% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 3,453 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Argan by 30.7% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,932 shares of the construction company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Argan during the first quarter worth about $11,307,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in Argan in the first quarter valued at about $992,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Argan in the first quarter valued at about $413,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,242,711.08. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total transaction of $617,586.23. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,180,520.02. This represents a 22.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366 in the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their target price on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $202.00.

Argan Stock Down 8.0%

Shares of AGX traded down $19.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $225.32. 869,114 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 431,538. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.09. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.53 and a 52-week high of $253.79. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 0.59.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $193.75 million. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%. Argan's revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 EPS.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is presently 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.