Argan (NYSE:AGX) Hits New 1-Year High at $103.66

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $103.66 and last traded at $103.28, with a volume of 40062 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AGX. StockNews.com cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th.

Argan Stock Up 2.2 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.09. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91 and a beta of 0.51.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. Argan had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 6.11%. The business had revenue of $227.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.05 million. The business’s revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 42.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $481,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,670,631.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 15,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.79, for a total value of $1,177,273.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 44,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,449,830.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $481,950.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,631.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 98,539 shares of company stock valued at $7,785,385 in the last three months. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 726,171 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,701,000 after acquiring an additional 12,162 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 537,296 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,309,000 after acquiring an additional 38,300 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Argan by 31.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 305,298 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,336,000 after acquiring an additional 73,658 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Argan by 32.8% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 175,245 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,811,000 after purchasing an additional 43,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Argan by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 112,979 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,266,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Argan

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.