Sapient Capital LLC Sells 2,280 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Sapient Capital LLC reduced its stake in Argan, Inc. by 4.4%, now owning approximately 0.36% of the company valued at $10.8 million.
• Argan recently reported earnings of $2.50 per share, surpassing expectations of $1.99, with revenues of $237.74 million for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.50, up from $0.38, reflecting a growing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,160 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,280 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC owned 0.36% of Argan worth $10,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AGX. Goodlander Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $18,364,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $11,307,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Argan by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $121,485,000 after purchasing an additional 82,585 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,958,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in Argan by 258.0% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 101,181 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $13,272,000 after purchasing an additional 72,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $260.63. The stock had a trading volume of 601,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 415,790. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33 and a beta of 0.62. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.26 and a 12-month high of $268.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $227.57 and its 200-day moving average is $190.26.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports 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 target price for the company. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $210.00.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.01, for a total transaction of $732,706.56. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $3,157,888.95. This represents a 18.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total transaction of $617,586.23. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,180,520.02. This represents a 22.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,445 shares of company stock worth $7,005,991 over the last quarter. 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.