Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 18,609 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 106.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,124 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,609 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.26% of Argan worth $4,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth $1,220,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 138.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,142 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,582,000 after buying an additional 15,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 843,583 shares of the construction company's stock worth $115,605,000 after buying an additional 16,784 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Argan presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Argan Stock Up 5.5%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $236.60 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $63.53 and a twelve month high of $246.60. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.18 and a beta of 0.54. The company's fifty day moving average is $211.74 and its 200 day moving average is $167.50.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Argan's payout ratio is 21.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.47, for a total value of $3,307,050.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,428 shares in the company, valued at $7,369,871.16. The trade was a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,456 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,157,888.95. The trade was a 18.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 85,404 shares of company stock valued at $18,221,387 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

About Argan

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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