Anson Funds Management LP Grows Stock Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Anson Funds Management LP increased its stake in Argan, Inc. by 6.9% in Q1, now holding approximately 0.20% of the company valued at $3.56 million.
• Argan has reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates, and will increase its quarterly dividend from $0.38 to $0.50.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings on Argan, with a notable price target increase from $236.00 to $260.00 by Lake Street Capital.

Anson Funds Management LP grew its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,128 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the period. Anson Funds Management LP owned approximately 0.20% of Argan worth $3,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 2,987.5% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 419.4% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $109,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Argan by 12.7% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Trading Up 4.0%

AGX stock opened at $226.03 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.98 and a twelve month high of $253.79. The company's 50 day moving average is $222.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $210.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total value of $1,688,316.12. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total transaction of $617,586.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,254 shares in the company, valued at $2,180,520.02. This represents a 22.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,836 shares of company stock valued at $6,380,666. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Argan

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.

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