2,735 Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 49.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,788 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,735 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Elite Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Argan by 135.9% in the third quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. now owns 22,348 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,446,000 after buying an additional 12,875 shares in the last quarter. Point Nemo Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,287,000. Formidable Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 5,792 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,807 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE:AGX traded down $8.75 on Friday, reaching $306.59. 124,854 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 307,190. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $514.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.64. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $252.88 and a 12 month high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. The business had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%. The business’s revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 22.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $544.00.

Argan Profile

Argan, Inc. is a construction and engineering company focused primarily on power generation and related infrastructure. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides services that include engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and maintenance. Its Gemma Power Systems subsidiary develops and builds power plants, including natural gas-fired and renewable energy facilities. Atlantic Projects Company provides construction, commissioning, and maintenance services for power generation and industrial facilities, while SMC Infrastructure Solutions serves the electric utility sector with infrastructure construction services.