Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $163.10 and last traded at $160.27, with a volume of 20588 shares traded. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.53.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced 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. Argan had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 6.11%. The business had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.05 million. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $962,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,448,962.40. This represents a 21.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total value of $1,314,660.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 219,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,606,257.90. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,703 shares of company stock worth $4,257,794. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGX. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 46.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,728,000 after buying an additional 21,094 shares during the period. Anson Funds Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 28.6% during the third quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 45,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,564,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at $631,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Argan by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 911,056 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,408,000 after acquiring an additional 409,948 shares during the period. 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.