Short Interest in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Increases By 46.5%

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 226,500 shares, a growth of 46.5% from the May 31st total of 154,600 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 138,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Argan Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE AGX traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $72.21. 82,810 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 106,178. The stock has a market capitalization of $964.00 million, a P/E ratio of 26.04 and a beta of 0.51. Argan has a 1 year low of $37.37 and a 1 year high of $78.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.54.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The construction company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $157.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.75 million. Argan had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.05) earnings per share.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.70%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director Mano S. Koilpillai sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.79, for a total transaction of $166,833.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,098.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.85, for a total transaction of $1,921,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 272,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,958,455.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mano S. Koilpillai sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.79, for a total transaction of $166,833.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,098.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,106 shares of company stock valued at $4,662,427. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $95,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $280,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Argan by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,656 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on shares of Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th.

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.