Short Interest in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Rises By 11.2%

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 451,100 shares, an increase of 11.2% from the October 31st total of 405,800 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 303,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 219,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,606,257.90. This represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 12.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,703 shares of company stock worth $4,257,794 over the last 90 days. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 51.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,406 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 7,564 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Argan by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 287,246 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,141,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 46.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,341 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,728,000 after buying an additional 21,094 shares in the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP boosted its holdings in Argan by 28.6% in the third quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 45,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,564,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $631,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Down 4.0 %

Argan stock traded down $6.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.91. 457,674 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,599. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.14 and a beta of 0.53. Argan has a 52 week low of $39.74 and a 52 week high of $165.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $131.26 and its 200 day moving average is $95.31.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $227.02 million for 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 firm’s revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

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.