John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 6,000 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,129 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Argan makes up about 1.2% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. owned 1.18% of Argan worth $7,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,000. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Argan by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 6,321 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AGX. StockNews.com cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.23, for a total transaction of $1,176,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 247,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,149,586.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.52, for a total transaction of $1,788,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 273,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,590,472.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.23, for a total value of $1,176,910.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 247,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,149,586.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,106 shares of company stock valued at $7,627,337. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE AGX traded up $2.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.25. The company had a trading volume of 120,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,855. The company has a market capitalization of $964.54 million, a PE ratio of 25.71 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.00. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.37 and a twelve month high of $78.95.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 6th. The construction company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $157.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.75 million. Argan had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.05) EPS.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 23rd will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.70%.

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.