Abacus FCF Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Argan, Inc. by 34.1% in Q2, now holding 44,697 shares valued at approximately $9.86 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.38, reflecting a yield of 0.8%.
• Argan reported a quarterly EPS of $2.50, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.99, with revenue increasing by 4.7% year-over-year.

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 34.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,697 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,354 shares during the period. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC owned about 0.33% of Argan worth $9,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the first quarter worth about $109,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 16,640.0% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 837 shares of the construction company's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth about $170,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Argan Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AGX traded down $3.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $265.27. The company had a trading volume of 160,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 430,373. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.26 and a 52-week high of $270.12. The company's 50 day moving average price is $228.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 0.62.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The business had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Argan's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.03%.

Argan 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.