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

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $366.35 and last traded at $360.70, with a volume of 46199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $344.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Glj Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $369.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.00.

Argan Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 40.99 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $291.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.62.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The business had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.97 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.73, for a total value of $3,242,363.46. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,834 shares in the company, valued at $10,668,864.82. The trade was a 23.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.09, for a total transaction of $2,920,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,135,642.54. This represents a 32.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 106,795 shares of company stock worth $29,401,111 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ariadne Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in Argan in the third quarter worth $208,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 6,799 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,836,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $325,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 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.