Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $217.80, but opened at $229.83. Argan shares last traded at $227.50, with a volume of 262,046 shares traded.

The construction company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. Argan had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

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 paid 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,292 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.35, for a total transaction of $344,602.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,428,325. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,565 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 7,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,400.64. This represents a 16.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,857 shares of company stock worth $1,308,133 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,341 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,728,000 after buying an additional 21,094 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter worth $93,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter worth $2,333,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in Argan by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 5,147 shares of the construction company's stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Trading Up 8.3%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.29. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.33 and a beta of 0.42.

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.