Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 5,088 Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Key Points

• Sierra Summit Advisors LLC has purchased 5,088 shares of Argan, Inc., valued at approximately $667,000, as indicated in their recent Form 13F filing.
• Argan reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.60, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.09, and noted a 22.8% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• Insider activities showed significant stock sales, with Director William F. Leimkuhler selling 7,604 shares for over $1.68 million, indicating a notable decrease in insider ownership.

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,088 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Argan by 1,123.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the construction company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $138,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $239.77 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.53 and a 1 year high of $253.79. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $218.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. This represents a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.92, for a total transaction of $8,316,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,442,531.44. This represents a 70.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan 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.

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