Leavell Investment Management Inc. Boosts Position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 51.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,250 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Argan were worth $557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AGX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 419.4% during the fourth 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. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Argan by 1,123.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the construction company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 859 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th.

Argan Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of AGX traded up $2.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $223.45. The company had a trading volume of 503,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,331. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34 and a beta of 0.54. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.53 and a 12 month high of $246.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $203.45 and a 200-day moving average of $162.75.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.04%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director James W. Quinn sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.92, for a total value of $8,316,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,442,531.44. This represents a 70.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 13,728 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.58, for a total transaction of $3,041,850.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 196,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,589,882.34. This trade represents a 6.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 90,404 shares of company stock worth $18,946,537. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

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.