Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $2.12 Million Holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,436 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.11% of Argan worth $2,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 843,583 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $115,605,000 after purchasing an additional 16,784 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,170,000 after acquiring an additional 116,783 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 73,654 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Argan by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,475,000 after acquiring an additional 80,844 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 292,956 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,156,000 after acquiring an additional 5,710 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.03, for a total value of $725,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,667,264.88. This represents a 30.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.32, for a total transaction of $238,380.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,400.64. This trade represents a 16.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,857 shares of company stock valued at $1,308,133. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock opened at $188.30 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.53 and a 52-week high of $191.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39 and a beta of 0.42.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.07. The business had revenue of $232.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th.

Argan Profile

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.