Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 192,462 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 76% from the previous session’s volume of 109,484 shares.The stock last traded at $76.56 and had previously closed at $72.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th.

Argan Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $997.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.05 and a 200-day moving average of $57.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The construction company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. Argan had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 6.08%. The firm had revenue of $157.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.05) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is 42.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.11, for a total transaction of $346,995.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 247,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,101,612.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director W G. Champion Mitchell sold 13,143 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.17, for a total transaction of $790,814.31. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,703.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.11, for a total value of $346,995.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 247,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,101,612.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,106 shares of company stock worth $6,727,487. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $64,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $95,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 84.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Hedge funds and other 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.