Argan (NYSE:AGX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $121.68 and last traded at $121.17, with a volume of 310534 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $113.85.

Argan Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.52 and a 200-day moving average of $75.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.15 and a beta of 0.53.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.05 million. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.38%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 15,134 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 44,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,449,830.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 13,115 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.66, for a total transaction of $1,044,740.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 157,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,554,734.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 15,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.79, for a total transaction of $1,177,273.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 44,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,449,830.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,539 shares of company stock valued at $4,820,475. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Argan by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 16,754 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its position in shares of Argan by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 28,724 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 5,820 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 12.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,264 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Argan by 18.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,426 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 726,171 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,701,000 after purchasing an additional 12,162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.