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

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 291,100 shares, a growth of 21.3% from the August 15th total of 239,900 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 215,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Argan Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE AGX traded up $2.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $91.10. The stock had a trading volume of 233,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,233. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.13 and its 200-day moving average is $66.91. Argan has a 52 week low of $39.74 and a 52 week high of $95.73. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.42 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.70%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.11, for a total transaction of $346,995.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 247,719 shares in the company, valued at $19,101,612.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.11, for a total value of $346,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 247,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,101,612.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total value of $896,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,422 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,444.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,039 shares of company stock valued at $6,688,430 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Argan by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 18,210 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 8,704 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $623,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 26,358 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 16,754 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in Argan by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 28,724 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 5,820 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AGX. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on shares of Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th.

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.