Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $161.00 and last traded at $161.00, with a volume of 27603 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $155.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.47 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.06.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $227.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.05 million. Argan had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 6.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a $0.375 dividend. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.17%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total value of $896,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,444.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Argan news, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total value of $896,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 70,422 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,444.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $481,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,670,631.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,703 shares of company stock worth $4,257,794. 11.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $22,336,000 after buying an additional 73,658 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the second quarter worth about $5,245,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Argan by 72.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 114,224 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,586,000 after purchasing an additional 47,881 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,783,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,168,000. 79.43% of the stock is 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.