86,201 Shares in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Acquired by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has acquired a new position in Argan, Inc. during the 1st quarter, purchasing 86,201 shares valued at approximately $11.3 million, representing 0.63% ownership of the company.
• Argan's recent earnings report showed a strong performance, with $1.60 earnings per share, exceeding estimates, and a revenue increase of 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.63%, reflecting a payout ratio of 21.04%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 86,201 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $11,307,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.63% of Argan at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at about $23,064,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company's stock worth $92,170,000 after acquiring an additional 116,783 shares during the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 286.8% during the fourth quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 117,384 shares of the construction company's stock worth $16,086,000 after acquiring an additional 87,038 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Argan by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,475,000 after acquiring an additional 80,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soros Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $10,340,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Argan stock traded up $0.85 on Wednesday, reaching $239.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 105,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 438,967. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47 and a beta of 0.54. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.53 and a 52-week high of $246.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $213.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.61.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 13,728 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.58, for a total value of $3,041,850.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 196,723 shares in the company, valued at $43,589,882.34. The trade was a 6.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 16,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,442,531.44. The trade was a 70.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 83,839 shares of company stock valued at $17,983,007. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AGX. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on 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. began coverage on Argan in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $202.00.

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.