Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Short Interest Down 24.3% in May

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 635,400 shares, a decline of 24.3% from the April 30th total of 839,900 shares. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 388,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.03, for a total value of $725,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,667,264.88. This represents a 30.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,565 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.32, for a total transaction of $238,380.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,188,400.64. The trade was a 16.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,857 shares of company stock worth $1,308,133. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,064,000. Goodlander Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,364,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company's stock worth $92,170,000 after buying an additional 116,783 shares in the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 286.8% during the 4th quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 117,384 shares of the construction company's stock worth $16,086,000 after buying an additional 87,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,307,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Kepler Capital Markets cut Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th.

Argan Stock Performance

Argan stock traded up $17.99 during trading on Thursday, reaching $235.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,030,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,727. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $164.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.29. Argan has a 1-year low of $63.53 and a 1-year high of $243.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 49.33 and a beta of 0.42.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.75 million. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.55%.

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.