Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Short Interest Up 20.5% in April

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 739,000 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the March 31st total of 613,200 shares. Approximately 5.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 449,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE:AGX traded up $3.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $171.29. The stock had a trading volume of 311,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,608. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.83 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50 day moving average is $134.34 and its 200 day moving average is $142.62. Argan has a fifty-two week low of $63.53 and a fifty-two week high of $191.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.07. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $232.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.50 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. Argan's payout ratio is presently 24.55%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,565 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.32, for a total value of $238,380.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 7,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,400.64. The trade was a 16.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.03, for a total transaction of $725,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $1,667,264.88. This trade represents a 30.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,857 shares of company stock worth $1,308,133. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,969,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in Argan by 86.2% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 2,756 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Argan in the 1st quarter valued at $854,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Argan by 13.2% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 3,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Argan by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,932 shares of the construction company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.