LPL Financial LLC Buys 3,453 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Argan, Inc. by 13.2%, acquiring an additional 3,453 shares, bringing its total to 29,595 shares valued at approximately $3.88 million.
• Argan reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.60, significantly surpassing the estimated $1.09, along with revenue growth of 22.8% year-over-year, totaling $193.66 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend of $1.50 and a yield of 0.7%.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,595 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,453 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.22% of Argan worth $3,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AGX. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% during the first 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 period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Argan by 1,123.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the construction company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter worth $138,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 12.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:AGX opened at $223.45 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.81 and a twelve month high of $253.79. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.36.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is presently 21.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 research note on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total value of $1,688,316.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,636 shares in the company, valued at $11,242,711.08. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,604 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.77, for a total value of $389,403.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 7,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,894,091.54. The trade was a 17.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366 over the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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