Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Acquired by Anson Funds Management LP

Key Points

• Anson Funds Management LP increased its stake in Argan, Inc. by 6.9% during the first quarter, now owning 27,128 shares valued at approximately $3.56 million.
• Argan's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.60, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.09, with revenues rising 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
• In recent analyst opinions, Lake Street Capital raised its target price for Argan from $150.00 to $236.00, while the average analyst rating remains at "Hold" with a consensus target of $202.00.

Anson Funds Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,128 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the quarter. Anson Funds Management LP owned 0.20% of Argan worth $3,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $23,064,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $11,307,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Argan by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $121,485,000 after acquiring an additional 82,585 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,958,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Argan by 815.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 77,460 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $10,615,000 after acquiring an additional 68,995 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets cut Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $202.00.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,242,711.08. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 40,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.92, for a total value of $8,316,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,442,531.44. This trade represents a 70.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366 over the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Argan Trading Up 6.8%

AGX stock traded up $15.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $242.24. 493,280 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 426,099. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $219.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.97 and a beta of 0.59. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.81 and a 52-week high of $253.79.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $193.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.75 million. Argan had a return on equity of 29.61% and a net margin of 11.00%.The firm's revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Argan's payout ratio is 21.04%.

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.