CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Takes Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP purchased 8,000 shares of Argan, Inc. for approximately $1.76 million, holding about 0.06% of the company post-acquisition.
• Argan recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.8% and a total annualized dividend of $2.00.
• The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations of $1.99, with a revenue of $237.74 million.

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,000 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,764,000. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT owned about 0.06% of Argan at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $170,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Argan in the first quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Argan by 16,640.0% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 837 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 12.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE AGX traded up $8.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $268.99. The company had a trading volume of 297,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,932. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 0.62. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.26 and a 52-week high of $269.35.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The company had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Argan's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Karen Sweeney sold 390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.25, for a total transaction of $103,057.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $347,488.75. This represents a 22.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 4,660 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.35, for a total transaction of $1,208,571.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,892 shares of company stock valued at $13,349,949 over the last quarter. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AGX shares. Glj Research started coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Argan has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $220.25.

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.