Jones Financial Companies Lllp Increases Stock Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies Lllp significantly increased its holdings in Argan, Inc. (AGX) by 56,242.9%, now owning 15,776 shares valued at approximately $2.07 million.
• Argan recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.50, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%, with the payout ratio at 18.03%.
• Analysts have varying ratings for Argan, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target around $210.00, reflecting ongoing interest from large investors.

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 56,242.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,776 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 15,748 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned approximately 0.12% of Argan worth $2,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the first quarter worth about $875,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 118.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 12.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 810.0% during the first quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 69,184 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,075,000 after purchasing an additional 61,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goodlander Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the first quarter worth about $18,364,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total value of $617,586.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,180,520.02. The trade was a 22.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,836 shares of company stock worth $6,380,666 in the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Argan Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of AGX traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $236.84. 18,673 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,908. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.53. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.79 and a 52-week high of $253.79. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53 and a beta of 0.62.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The business had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.97 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

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

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.