Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. trimmed its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,171 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 787 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Argan were worth $1,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AGX. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,138,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $971,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Argan by 125.3% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,377,000 after buying an additional 6,955 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,629,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $478,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.88, for a total transaction of $495,904.00. Following the sale, the director owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,940. This represents a 61.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total value of $1,885,080.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,847 shares in the company, valued at $4,302,380.92. This represents a 30.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $719.34 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.63 and a twelve month high of $748.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $574.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $432.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a PE ratio of 73.85 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The business had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.40.

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.