Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

Key Points

• MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. reduced its stake in Argan, Inc. by 68.0% in Q1, holding 169,040 shares after selling 360,012 shares.
• Several hedge funds, including Goodlander Investment Management LLC and Pacer Advisors Inc., made significant acquisitions in Argan, increasing institutional ownership to 79.43%.
• Argan recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375, reflecting a 0.7% yield and an 18.03% payout ratio, alongside beating EPS estimates in its latest earnings report.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lowered its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 68.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,040 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 360,012 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned 1.24% of Argan worth $22,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City Center Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the 1st quarter worth about $223,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the construction company's stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,590 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the first quarter valued at approximately $667,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 362.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,894 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,553,970. This represents a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,604 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.77, for a total transaction of $389,403.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 27,836 shares of company stock valued at $6,380,666 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE AGX traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $233.26. The company had a trading volume of 162,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,790. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.79 and a fifty-two week high of $253.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50 day moving average is $223.17 and its 200 day moving average is $184.89.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The company had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $210.00.

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.