Short Interest in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Increases By 46.5%

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 226,500 shares, a growth of 46.5% from the May 31st total of 154,600 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 138,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.16. 672,208 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 216,538. The stock has a market cap of $976.69 million, a P/E ratio of 26.04 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.37. Argan has a 52-week low of $37.37 and a 52-week high of $78.95.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 6th. The construction company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. Argan had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The firm had revenue of $157.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.05) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mano S. Koilpillai sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.79, for a total value of $166,833.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,608 shares in the company, valued at $470,098.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 6,256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.15, for a total value of $382,554.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,185 shares in the company, valued at $500,512.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mano S. Koilpillai sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.79, for a total transaction of $166,833.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,608 shares in the company, valued at $470,098.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,106 shares of company stock worth $4,662,427. Insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 120.9% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 45,260 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after purchasing an additional 24,769 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 360.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,005 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 14,092 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 18,210 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 8,704 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on shares of Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th.

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.