Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading Up 5.6% - Time to Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) traded up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $221.00 and last traded at $221.26. 276,553 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 336,444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th.

Argan Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.60 and a beta of 0.55. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $175.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.37.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 11,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,667,264.88. This trade represents a 30.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.32, for a total transaction of $238,380.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 7,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,188,400.64. This trade represents a 16.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 62,585 shares of company stock worth $12,666,783. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Invst LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the first quarter worth $538,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 4.4% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,862 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,605,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP raised its holdings in Argan by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 27,128 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter worth about $813,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

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.