Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Short Interest Update

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) saw a large growth in short interest in 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. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 215,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 1,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.36, for a total transaction of $110,095.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,018,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 1,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.31, for a total transaction of $147,614.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,760,554.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 1,405 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.36, for a total value of $110,095.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,018,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,539 shares of company stock worth $6,341,435 over the last 90 days. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AGX. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $878,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 175,245 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,811,000 after acquiring an additional 43,258 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at $293,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $623,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth $251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGX traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.46. The company had a trading volume of 91,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,279. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.36. Argan has a 12 month low of $39.74 and a 12 month high of $95.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 23rd were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Lake Street Capital upped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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.