John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,129 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,736 shares during the period. Argan comprises 1.2% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. owned approximately 1.22% of Argan worth $7,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 22,904 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,904 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Argan by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,903 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 25,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Argan by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 22,978 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Stock Performance

Argan stock traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.55. 91,322 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 71,882. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.37 and a 12-month high of $62.19. The stock has a market cap of $814.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.02.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Argan

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.