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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Argan Stock Performance

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

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The business had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.05 million. Argan’s quarterly 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 given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Argan’s payout ratio is 42.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $962,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,852 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,962.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $69.23, for a total transaction of $1,176,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 247,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,149,586.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total value of $962,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,448,962.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,539 shares of company stock worth $7,785,385 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Argan by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 305,298 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,336,000 after purchasing an additional 73,658 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,245,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,168,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Argan in the second quarter worth $3,166,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 32.8% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.