XTX Topco Ltd Boosts Stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Argan, Inc. by 86.2% in Q1, owning 2,756 shares valued at $362,000.
• Insider transactions included Director William F. Leimkuhler selling 7,604 shares for over $1.6 million, and Cynthia Flanders selling 15,000 shares for approximately $3.3 million.
• Argan reported a net margin of 11.00% and a 22.8% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $1.60 beating analyst estimates.

XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 86.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,756 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Argan were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 419.4% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Argan by 1,123.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at $138,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Argan by 12.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.77, for a total value of $389,403.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,802 shares in the company, valued at $1,894,091.54. The trade was a 17.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $469,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,428 shares in the company, valued at $7,371,751.68. The trade was a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AGX. Kepler Capital Markets cut Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Argan has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $202.00.

Argan Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE AGX traded down $4.95 on Thursday, hitting $224.57. 92,948 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 437,050. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48 and a beta of 0.59. The business's 50 day moving average price is $219.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.15. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.81 and a 52-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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.75 million. Argan had a return on equity of 29.61% and a net margin of 11.00%. Argan's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. 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 currently 21.04%.

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.