Ranger Investment Management L.P. Grows Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Ranger Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 678.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 104,055 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,685 shares during the quarter. Argan comprises about 2.0% of Ranger Investment Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ranger Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.75% of Argan worth $28,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AGX. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 22.0% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Argan by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,036 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Argan by 6.5% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,354 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 2.6% in the third quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 8.4% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,592 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of AGX opened at $368.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $339.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 41.96 and a beta of 0.63. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.02 and a 1-year high of $400.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The company had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Argan’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 23.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total transaction of $4,187,332.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,934,371.85. The trade was a 18.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total transaction of $2,068,917.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,461,682.37. The trade was a 45.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 55,915 shares of company stock valued at $20,182,794 in the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Glj Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group set a $315.00 price target on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Lake Street Capital cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.20.

Argan Profile

Argan, Inc (NYSE: AGX) is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company’s principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.