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

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 602,300 shares, an increase of 5.1% from the December 15th total of 573,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 317,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $177.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $150.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.46. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16 and a beta of 0.56. Argan has a 1-year low of $43.44 and a 1-year high of $181.37.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is 31.38%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,367 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,050. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total transaction of $1,460,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,491,050.55. This represents a 16.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,185 shares of company stock valued at $3,105,359 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Argan by 78.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,325 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,462,000 after buying an additional 20,853 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the second quarter valued at $5,245,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth $306,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,166,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $70,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AGX. CJS Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Lake Street Capital downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

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.