Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 96.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 264 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,716 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Argan were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Anson Funds Management LP increased its stake in Argan by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 45,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,564,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth approximately $631,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Argan by 81.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 911,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $92,408,000 after acquiring an additional 409,948 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 353,984 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,905,000 after acquiring an additional 16,055 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $471,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Stock Performance

Argan stock opened at $139.33 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $142.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 0.53. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.44 and a twelve month high of $165.33.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 31.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $481,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,631.48. This represents a 22.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total value of $1,314,660.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 219,879 shares in the company, valued at $28,606,257.90. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,703 shares of company stock worth $3,859,494 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AGX. StockNews.com cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. CJS Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Argan in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Lake Street Capital downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

About Argan

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.