Private Trust Co. NA Cuts Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Private Trust Co. NA decreased its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 31.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 754 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 346 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Argan were worth $166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 2,987.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at about $71,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the first quarter valued at about $109,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Argan by 16,640.0% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 837 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 12.7% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of AGX opened at $281.28 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.02 and a 52-week high of $320.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.81 and a beta of 0.64.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The business had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AGX shares. Glj Research started coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.12, for a total value of $3,618,049.28. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,570 shares in the company, valued at $13,340,278.40. The trade was a 21.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.39, for a total transaction of $1,911,474.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,897 shares in the company, valued at $2,913,577.83. The trade was a 39.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,520 shares of company stock worth $32,464,470 over the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.