Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Shares Sold by Parthenon LLC

Parthenon LLC decreased its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,657 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Parthenon LLC owned about 0.23% of Argan worth $1,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Argan by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 395,664 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,011,000 after acquiring an additional 32,958 shares in the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Argan by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 180,525 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,447,000 after acquiring an additional 7,382 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 116,613 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,456,000 after purchasing an additional 13,431 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its holdings in Argan by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 109,022 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,298,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director W G. Champion Mitchell sold 13,143 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.17, for a total transaction of $790,814.31. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $312,703.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director W G. Champion Mitchell sold 13,143 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.17, for a total transaction of $790,814.31. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $312,703.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mano S. Koilpillai sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.79, for a total value of $166,833.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,098.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,606 shares of company stock worth $2,394,182. 11.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX traded down $1.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 64,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,208. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.37 and a 12-month high of $62.69. The stock has a market cap of $797.71 million, a PE ratio of 25.45 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.84 and its 200 day moving average is $47.79.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 50.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AGX. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on Argan from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th.

Argan Company Profile

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.