Leavell Investment Management Inc. Takes $203,000 Position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 29,062 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Argan by 3.5% in the second quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 10,862 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Argan during the third quarter worth $43,000. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Argan by 4.4% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Argan by 5.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,616 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total value of $962,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,448,962.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total value of $602,383.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 236,745 shares in the company, valued at $31,015,962.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $962,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,448,962.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $157.15 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $110.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.38. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.74 and a fifty-two week high of $162.78. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.42 and a beta of 0.49.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $227.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.05 million. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.17%.

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.