Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 95.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,500 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 33,166 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AGX. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. This trade represents a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,411,120. This trade represents a 29.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828. 2.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $597.43 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $651.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $567.84. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.00 and a 1 year high of $805.75. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.50 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 17.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AGX. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

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.