Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Invests $1.06 Million in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,785 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Argan by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the 1st quarter worth $667,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Argan by 810.0% in the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 69,184 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,075,000 after acquiring an additional 61,581 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Argan in the 1st quarter worth $551,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Argan by 273.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 68,628 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,226,000 after acquiring an additional 50,230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Up 7.6%

Shares of AGX stock opened at $297.03 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 35.70 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.54. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.02 and a 52-week high of $320.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.97 million. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.09, for a total value of $2,920,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,006 shares in the company, valued at $6,135,642.54. The trade was a 32.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.12, for a total value of $3,618,049.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,340,278.40. This represents a 21.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,520 shares of company stock worth $32,464,470 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on Argan in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Glj Research started coverage on Argan in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their target price on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.20.

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.