Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by WINTON GROUP Ltd

WINTON GROUP Ltd lowered its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,885 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,252 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Argan were worth $1,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,175,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Argan by 37.5% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 220 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Argan by 1,800.0% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $997,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $414.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $538.95 and its 200-day moving average is $583.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.57. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.79 and a 12-month high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. The business had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 13.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on AGX shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Argan in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Argan from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Freedom Broker raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $437.50.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, CFO Joshua Baugher sold 760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,084,550.70. This trade represents a 33.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,228.12. The trade was a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 77,973 shares of company stock worth $55,381,828. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Argan Profile

Argan, Inc is an engineering, procurement and construction company that provides services to the power generation and energy infrastructure industries. The company supports the development, construction, commissioning and maintenance of power facilities, including natural gas-fired power plants, renewable energy projects and energy storage installations.

Argan primarily operates through subsidiaries including Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, project management and construction services for power generation projects; The Roberts Company, which performs industrial fabrication, equipment installation and field services; and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering and construction services for power and industrial facilities.