5,088 Shares in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Acquired by Sierra Summit Advisors LLC

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 bought a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,088 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 419.4% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Argan by 1,123.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $138,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 12.7% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,225,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,553,970. This trade represents a 25.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.47, for a total transaction of $3,307,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,369,871.16. The trade was a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE:AGX traded down $11.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $227.53. 277,905 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 438,578. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $69.81 and a one year high of $253.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 0.59. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $219.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 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 firm had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.