Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,386 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,436 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $2,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Argan by 1,123.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,292 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.35, for a total value of $344,602.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,325. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.32, for a total transaction of $238,380.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,400.64. The trade was a 16.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,857 shares of company stock valued at $1,308,133 over the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

Argan Price Performance

AGX opened at $188.30 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $63.53 and a one year high of $191.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.39 and a beta of 0.42.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.07. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $232.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.50 million. Argan’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.55%.

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.