Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $4.75 Million Stock Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in Argan, Inc. by 41.4%, selling 25,556 shares during the first quarter, while still holding approximately 0.27% of the company's stock worth $4.75 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions on Argan, with one buy rating, three hold ratings, and an average price target of $210.00, while some brokerages have issued price targets as high as $260.00.
• Argan recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, an increase from the previous $0.38, giving an annualized yield of 0.9% and reflecting a payout ratio of 18.03%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 41.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,222 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 25,556 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Argan worth $4,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AGX. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter worth $109,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake 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 worth $110,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 12.7% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Argan in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Kepler Capital Markets cut Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their price target on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $210.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,553,970. The trade was a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,836 shares of company stock valued at $6,380,666 over the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Argan Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE AGX traded down $1.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $230.80. 302,561 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 433,734. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.79 and a 1 year high of $253.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $223.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.89.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

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.