KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Cuts Holdings 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 decreased its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 24.7% in the first 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 period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Argan were worth $879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. City Center Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter valued at about $223,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 11,180.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,640 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,400,000 after purchasing an additional 5,590 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 362.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the construction company's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 8,411 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX traded down $15.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $229.59. 494,769 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 442,676. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16 and a beta of 0.54. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $215.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.72. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.53 and a 12-month high of $253.79.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.75 million. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. This trade represents a 13.06% 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 Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,456 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.01, for a total transaction of $732,706.56. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,157,888.95. The trade was a 18.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 90,064 shares of company stock valued at $19,459,116. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.