CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Grows Stock Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,000 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Argan comprises approximately 1.0% of CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT owned about 0.27% of Argan worth $20,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $706.30 on Monday. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.90 and a 12-month high of $805.75. The firm has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a PE ratio of 62.07 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $688.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $519.79.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total value of $1,398,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,411,120. This trade represents a 29.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total value of $15,208,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,159,379.68. This represents a 32.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 179,663 shares of company stock valued at $119,410,408 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Freedom Capital raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Argan Profile

Argan, Inc (NYSE: AGX) is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company’s principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.