Argan (NYSE:AGX) Reaches New 12-Month High at $97.00

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $97.00 and last traded at $96.15, with a volume of 72625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th.

Argan Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12 and a beta of 0.51.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $227.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.05 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 53.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.52, for a total value of $1,788,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 273,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,472.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.52, for a total value of $1,788,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 273,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,590,472.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 1,405 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.36, for a total value of $110,095.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,018,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,539 shares of company stock valued at $6,341,435. 11.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at about $878,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Argan by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 175,245 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,811,000 after acquiring an additional 43,258 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,273,000. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $293,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $623,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.