Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $94.67 and last traded at $94.61, with a volume of 49929 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.38.

The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.05 million. Argan had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The business’s revenue was up 60.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Argan’s payout ratio is 42.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AGX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.23, for a total transaction of $1,176,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 247,719 shares in the company, valued at $17,149,586.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 25,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.85, for a total value of $1,921,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 272,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,958,455.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 17,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.23, for a total transaction of $1,176,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 247,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,149,586.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 103,039 shares of company stock worth $7,712,880 over the last ninety days. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Argan by 76.2% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,552 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,430 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Argan by 70.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,095 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $739,000 after buying an additional 4,179 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the second quarter worth $665,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Argan during the second quarter worth $450,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 27.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 107,825 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,888,000 after buying an additional 23,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87 and a beta of 0.51.

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.