US Bancorp DE Sells 1,733 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in Argan, Inc. by 26.7% during the first quarter, selling 1,733 shares and holding 4,750 shares worth $623,000.
• Argan reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.60, exceeding estimates by $0.51, with net revenues reaching $193.66 million, up 22.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375, representing a yield of 0.7%, with a dividend payout ratio of 21.04%.

US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 26.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,750 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,733 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Argan were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Argan by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 31,086 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,078,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,042 shares of the construction company's stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,756 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Argan by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 11,100 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $469,120.00. Following the sale, the director owned 31,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,371,751.68. This trade represents a 5.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total value of $617,586.23. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,254 shares in the company, valued at $2,180,520.02. The trade was a 22.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366. Insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGX traded down $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $223.45. 320,135 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 425,538. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34 and a beta of 0.59. The company's fifty day moving average is $218.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.36. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.81 and a fifty-two week high of $253.79.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.04%.

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.