Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Short Interest Up 5.1% in January

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 602,300 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the December 31st total of 573,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 317,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Argan Price Performance

Argan stock opened at $136.50 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.58. Argan has a 52-week low of $44.32 and a 52-week high of $191.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56 and a beta of 0.56.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.74. Argan had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 8.20%. The company had revenue of $257.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.60 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total value of $1,460,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,491,050.55. This trade represents a 16.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.24, for a total value of $124,192.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,977,037.48. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,185 shares of company stock valued at $3,105,359. 11.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Argan by 81.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 911,056 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,408,000 after buying an additional 409,948 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at $6,687,000. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $8,241,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Argan by 72.2% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 114,224 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,586,000 after purchasing an additional 47,881 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the third quarter worth about $4,783,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on AGX shares. StockNews.com cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. CJS Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

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.