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

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $173.82 and last traded at $170.03, with a volume of 89583 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $156.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, CJS Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Argan Stock Up 4.2 %

The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 36.64 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.96.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.60 million. Argan had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 8.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 7,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total transaction of $1,220,666.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,949,099.68. This represents a 38.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total transaction of $1,314,660.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 219,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,606,257.90. The trade was a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,290 shares of company stock worth $4,420,019. 11.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Argan by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 911,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $92,408,000 after buying an additional 409,948 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Argan by 7.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 537,296 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,309,000 after acquiring an additional 38,300 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Argan by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 353,984 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,905,000 after acquiring an additional 16,055 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Argan by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 305,298 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,336,000 after purchasing an additional 73,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $29,141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.