Strs Ohio Invests $813,000 in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has made a new investment of approximately $813,000 in Argan, Inc. by acquiring 6,200 shares of stock during the first quarter.
• Argan recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, increasing from the previous quarter's dividend of $0.38, with an annualized yield of 0.8%.
• In their latest earnings report, Argan exceeded analysts' expectations with earnings of $2.50 per share, compared to a consensus estimate of $1.99, highlighting a 4.7% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,200 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $813,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Argan by 2,987.5% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $109,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Argan by 16,640.0% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 837 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 4,660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.35, for a total value of $1,208,571.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen Sweeney sold 390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.25, for a total value of $103,057.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $347,488.75. The trade was a 22.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,892 shares of company stock valued at $13,349,949. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $267.83. 18,849 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,596. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.26 and a 52-week high of $270.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.19 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan's payout ratio is 18.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Glj Research initiated coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday. They set a "hold" rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $220.25.

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.