Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes $1.04 Million Position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,603 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Argan by 1,123.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Argan Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of AGX stock opened at $188.30 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.20. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.53 and a 12-month high of $191.46.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.03, for a total value of $725,150.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $1,667,264.88. This represents a 30.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.32, for a total value of $238,380.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,400.64. This represents a 16.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,857 shares of company stock worth $1,308,133 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

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.