CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Buys 4,000 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT (dba NXG Investment Management) increased its Argan stake by 12.9%, buying 4,000 shares to own 35,000 shares—about 0.25% of the company valued at $10.97 million per its SEC filing.
• Argan reported a strong quarterly beat on March 26 with $3.47 EPS vs. $1.99 expected and $262.05M revenue (up 12.7% year-over-year); the stock trades near its 52-week high with a market cap of $8.44 billion and a PE of 62.08.
• The company announced a $0.50 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.00, ~0.3% yield) and authorized a $200 million buyback (~2.5% of shares), while insiders have sold 42,281 shares (~$19.1M) in the past three months.

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,000 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT owned approximately 0.25% of Argan worth $10,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Argan by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of Argan stock opened at $604.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 62.08 and a beta of 0.46. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.07 and a 52-week high of $620.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $485.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $382.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. The business had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $255.32 million. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Argan's payout ratio is 20.53%.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AGX. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $425.40.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.49, for a total transaction of $5,053,649.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 41,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,834,342.55. The trade was a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total transaction of $2,459,556.60. Following the sale, the director owned 3,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,962,894.60. This trade represents a 55.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,281 shares of company stock valued at $19,118,622. Insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan 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.

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