Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 72.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,371 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 89,745 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.25% of Argan worth $4,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Argan by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 843,583 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $115,605,000 after buying an additional 16,784 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Argan by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 480,658 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $65,869,000 after purchasing an additional 73,654 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Argan by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 353,984 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,905,000 after purchasing an additional 16,055 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,475,000 after buying an additional 80,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 292,956 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,156,000 after buying an additional 5,710 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.03, for a total transaction of $725,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $1,667,264.88. This trade represents a 30.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX traded down $2.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $146.19. The stock had a trading volume of 686,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 295,873. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.03 and a 1 year high of $191.46. The stock's 50 day moving average is $130.57 and its 200 day moving average is $139.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58 and a beta of 0.45.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.07. The business had revenue of $232.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The business's revenue was up 41.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Argan's payout ratio is 24.55%.

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.