Aventail Capital Group LP Trims Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Aventail Capital Group LP decreased its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 70.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,507 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 52,516 shares during the quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP owned approximately 0.16% of Argan worth $6,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 118.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 13.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,665,000 after buying an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Argan by 37.3% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $418,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Price Performance

AGX opened at $458.31 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $391.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $330.82. The firm has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.98 and a beta of 0.57. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $111.16 and a 1-year high of $484.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total value of $4,187,332.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,934,371.85. This represents a 18.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.78, for a total value of $1,803,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,955,509.76. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,915 shares of company stock worth $19,854,754 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. CJS Securities raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.20.

Argan Company 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.