KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Reduces Stock Position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS has decreased its stock holdings in Argan, Inc. by 24.7% to 6,700 shares, reducing its total holdings to an estimated value of $879,000.
• Argan, Inc. reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.60, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.09, along with a revenue increase of 22.8% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375, with a dividend yield of 0.63%, and a payout ratio of 21.04%.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS reduced its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,700 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Argan were worth $879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AGX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Argan by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 843,583 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $115,605,000 after acquiring an additional 16,784 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $92,170,000 after purchasing an additional 116,783 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 529,052 shares of the construction company's stock worth $72,502,000 after purchasing an additional 29,062 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Argan by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,475,000 after purchasing an additional 80,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Argan by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 292,956 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,156,000 after purchasing an additional 5,710 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:AGX opened at $237.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $212.70 and a 200-day moving average of $168.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25 and a beta of 0.54. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.53 and a 52 week high of $246.60.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $202.00.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.47, for a total value of $3,307,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,369,871.16. This trade represents a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,404 shares of company stock worth $18,221,387 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Company 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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