Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. has reduced its stake in Argan, Inc. by 33.6%, now holding 8,591 shares valued at approximately $1.13 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Insiders at Argan have significantly sold shares, with Director William F. Leimkuhler selling 7,604 shares and Director James W. Quinn selling 40,000 shares, indicating a substantial decrease in their ownership positions.
• Argan recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.60, outperforming estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, reflecting a 0.63% yield.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 33.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,591 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 4,346 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Argan worth $1,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in Argan by 419.4% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings 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 during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $138,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 50,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.92, for a total transaction of $8,316,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $3,442,531.44. This represents a 70.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 85,404 shares of company stock valued at $18,221,387. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $236.60 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.58. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $63.53 and a twelve month high of $246.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.18 and a beta of 0.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%. The company had revenue of $193.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Argan's revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is currently 21.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on AGX shares. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, June 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $202.00.

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.

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