River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 373,294 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,109,515 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 373,294 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 8.32% of Argan worth $51,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at about $493,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $666,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the construction company's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Argan by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 173,143 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,881,000 after buying an additional 47,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Argan by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 395,664 shares of the construction company's stock worth $18,011,000 after buying an additional 32,958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on Argan from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com raised Argan from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday.

Argan Trading Down 1.9 %

AGX traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $60.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 128,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 71,333. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.37 and a fifty-two week high of $62.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $795.06 million, a PE ratio of 25.13 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.92.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.14. Argan had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 5.64%. The firm had revenue of $164.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $162.05 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.46) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 38.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.21%.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, technical, and consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Industry Services, Industrial Fabrication and Field Services, and Telecommunications Infrastructure Services segments.