Private Trust Co. NA Takes $151,000 Position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,100 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Argan by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argan Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $120.59 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.35 and its 200 day moving average is $129.87. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.15 and a 12-month high of $191.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.56.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.60 million. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 56.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 31.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.24, for a total value of $124,192.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,977,037.48. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 51,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,491,050.55. The trade was a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,185 shares of company stock valued at $3,105,359. Insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AGX. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. CJS Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Argan in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

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.