Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 291,100 shares, an increase of 21.3% from the August 15th total of 239,900 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 215,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AGX shares. StockNews.com cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on Argan from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 1,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.31, for a total value of $147,614.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 175,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,760,554.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 1,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.31, for a total value of $147,614.35. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,760,554.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 25,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.52, for a total transaction of $1,788,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 273,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,590,472.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,539 shares of company stock valued at $6,341,435. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Argan by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 726,171 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,701,000 after buying an additional 12,162 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 537,296 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,309,000 after purchasing an additional 38,300 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 305,298 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,336,000 after purchasing an additional 73,658 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 32.8% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 175,245 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,811,000 after buying an additional 43,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 112,979 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,266,000 after buying an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Argan stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $90.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 83,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,228. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 0.51. Argan has a fifty-two week low of $39.74 and a fifty-two week high of $95.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.36.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $227.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.05 million. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The company’s revenue was up 60.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Argan’s payout ratio is 42.70%.

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.