WCM Investment Management LLC Purchases 10,074 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 17.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,394 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,074 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC owned 0.51% of Argan worth $9,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 273.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 68,628 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,226,000 after buying an additional 50,230 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Argan by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 31,086 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,078,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Argan in the 1st quarter worth approximately $415,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Argan by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the construction company's stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Argan by 362.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the construction company's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Price Performance

AGX traded up $3.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $209.65. 192,314 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 351,521. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $197.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.73. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.53 and a fifty-two week high of $246.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40 and a beta of 0.54.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $193.66 million during 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 firm's revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 EPS.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.04%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 13,728 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.58, for a total value of $3,041,850.24. Following the sale, the director owned 196,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,589,882.34. This trade represents a 6.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total value of $1,688,316.12. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,696 shares of company stock worth $19,291,140 over the last quarter. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th.

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.