Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 573,000 shares, a growth of 22.1% from the November 30th total of 469,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 309,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 4.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Argan Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of AGX traded down $2.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.69. The stock had a trading volume of 125,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,293. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60 and a beta of 0.53. Argan has a fifty-two week low of $43.44 and a fifty-two week high of $165.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.66.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AGX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, CJS Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total transaction of $1,460,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,491,050.55. This trade represents a 16.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,703 shares of company stock worth $3,377,544 in the last 90 days. 11.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Argan by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 37,819 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,836,000 after purchasing an additional 15,681 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth approximately $1,373,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,687,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Argan by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,406 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,273,000 after buying an additional 7,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Argan by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 287,246 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.