Savant Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,552 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $1,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the third quarter worth about $56,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $91,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AGX shares. StockNews.com cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, CJS Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Argan in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $148.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04 and a beta of 0.56. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.57 and a 1 year high of $191.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $150.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.31.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.74. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.60 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 31.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 7,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total value of $1,220,666.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,792 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,099.68. This represents a 38.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total value of $1,460,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,491,050.55. The trade was a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,185 shares of company stock valued at $3,105,359 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Argan Company 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.