Argan (NYSE:AGX) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $209.05 and last traded at $209.56, with a volume of 159881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $203.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Argan Stock Up 3.4%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $152.16 and a 200 day moving average of $147.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.94 and a beta of 0.42.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.07. The company had revenue of $232.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 41.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,064,000. Goodlander Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter worth $18,364,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 116,783 shares during the period. Thames Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 286.8% in the 4th quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 117,384 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,086,000 after purchasing an additional 87,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan in the 1st quarter valued at $11,307,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

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.

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