Argan (NYSE:AGX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $136.02 and last traded at $135.82, with a volume of 115678 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $133.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Argan Trading Up 3.3 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $102.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.51 and a beta of 0.53.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.05 million. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a $0.375 dividend. This is a positive change 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 1.10%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.17%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total transaction of $602,383.98. Following the transaction, the director now owns 236,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,015,962.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total transaction of $602,383.98. Following the transaction, the director now owns 236,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,015,962.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794. Insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in 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 during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,245,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,783,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,168,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,166,000. 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.