Next Century Growth Investors LLC Makes New Investment in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Next Century Growth Investors LLC has acquired a new position in Argan, Inc., purchasing 51,140 shares valued at approximately $6.7 million, representing 0.37% ownership of the company.
• Argan recently reported favorable quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $1.60, beating estimates, and a revenue increase of 22.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 21.04%.

Next Century Growth Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 51,140 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $6,708,000. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned 0.37% of Argan at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 2,987.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 419.4% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Argan by 16,640.0% during the 1st 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 period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $138,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 12.7% during the 1st 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $226.49 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.81 and a 12-month high of $253.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.77 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $219.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.78.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital upped 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 issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 13,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.58, for a total transaction of $3,041,850.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 196,723 shares in the company, valued at $43,589,882.34. This represents a 6.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.47, for a total value of $3,307,050.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,369,871.16. This represents a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366 in the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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