Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $1.04 Million in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,603 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,042,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned about 0.06% of Argan as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Argan by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 843,583 shares of the construction company's stock worth $115,605,000 after buying an additional 16,784 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Argan by 21.0% during 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 during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Argan by 5.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Argan by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 480,658 shares of the construction company's stock worth $65,869,000 after purchasing an additional 73,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Argan by 37.7% in the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.32, for a total value of $238,380.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,802 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,400.64. This trade represents a 16.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.03, for a total transaction of $725,150.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,667,264.88. This represents a 30.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,857 shares of company stock valued at $1,308,133 over the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE:AGX traded up $4.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $197.33. 414,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 317,613. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 41.28 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $147.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.20. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $63.53 and a one year high of $198.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.07. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $232.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.50 million. The company's revenue was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Lake Street Capital upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

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.