Strategic Advocates LLC Buys New Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Strategic Advocates LLC invested $284,000 in Argan, Inc. by purchasing 1,288 shares, marking a significant commitment in the construction company.
• Argan recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, an increase from the previous $0.38, representing an annualized yield of 0.8% with a payout ratio of 18.03%.
• After beating EPS estimates for its latest quarter, Argan's stock performance shows notable volatility with a 52-week high of $253.79 and a low of $87.79.

Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,288 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 82,585 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Argan by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 517,302 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $67,855,000 after acquiring an additional 36,644 shares during the period. Goodlander Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter valued at $18,364,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 114,839 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $15,063,000 after purchasing an additional 5,298 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 related news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total value of $617,586.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,180,520.02. The trade was a 22.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,609 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $625,325.12. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,090,913.28. This trade represents a 16.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,445 shares of company stock valued at $7,005,991 over the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $210.00.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE AGX traded up $1.05 on Friday, reaching $260.63. The company had a trading volume of 601,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 415,790. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $227.57 and a 200-day moving average of $189.81. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.26 and a 1 year high of $268.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.03%.

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.