PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 64.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,557 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,622 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its position in Argan by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 22,904 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,904 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 6,321 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Argan by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Director Mano S. Koilpillai sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.79, for a total value of $166,833.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,098.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mano S. Koilpillai sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.79, for a total transaction of $166,833.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,608 shares in the company, valued at $470,098.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.11, for a total transaction of $346,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 247,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,101,612.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,106 shares of company stock valued at $4,662,427 over the last quarter. 11.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Argan Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Argan stock opened at $72.03 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.15. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.37 and a 12-month high of $78.95. The firm has a market cap of $961.89 million, a PE ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 0.51.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The construction company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. Argan had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company had revenue of $157.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.05) earnings per share. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.70%.

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.