Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Purchased by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 125.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,505 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,955 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $3,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Thames Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,175,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,772,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Argan by 229.3% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after buying an additional 4,028 shares during the period. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 81.8% in the second quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 8,084 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 3,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth $232,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 4,212 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.53, for a total transaction of $1,350,072.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 60,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,546,880.99. The trade was a 6.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total value of $2,068,917.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,461,682.37. This represents a 45.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,664 shares of company stock valued at $7,728,116. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, December 1st. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Lake Street Capital downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.20.

Argan Stock Up 16.4%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $383.81 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.02 and a 52 week high of $399.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $337.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.21 and a beta of 0.64.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The business had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 23.56%.

About Argan

Argan, Inc (NYSE: AGX) is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company’s principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.