30,255 Shares in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Bought by Thornburg Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management Inc. has acquired approximately $3.97 million worth of Argan, Inc. shares, acquiring a total of 30,255 shares, which represents about 0.22% of the company.
• Argan's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.60, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $193.66 million, reflecting a 22.8% year-over-year growth.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, with an annual yield of 0.63%, and a payout ratio of 21.04%.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 30,255 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $3,969,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.22% of Argan at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AGX. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 138.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,142 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,582,000 after purchasing an additional 15,167 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 843,583 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $115,605,000 after purchasing an additional 16,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 38,084 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,219,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argan Stock Down 8.0%

AGX stock traded down $19.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $225.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 869,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,489. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.53 and a 52 week high of $253.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 0.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $215.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.72.

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 company had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.75 million. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $202.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $469,120.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,371,751.68. This trade represents a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total transaction of $617,586.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,180,520.02. This trade represents a 22.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 90,064 shares of company stock valued at $19,459,116. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.