Argan (NYSE:AGX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $163.10 and last traded at $160.27, with a volume of 20588 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $158.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.82. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.57 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given 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 was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 47.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total transaction of $602,383.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 236,745 shares in the company, valued at $31,015,962.45. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total transaction of $896,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,444.96. This represents a 12.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794. 11.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Argan by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 287,246 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 46.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,341 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,728,000 after acquiring an additional 21,094 shares during the period. Anson Funds Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 45,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,564,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $631,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Argan by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 911,056 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,408,000 after purchasing an additional 409,948 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently 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.