Argan (NYSE:AGX) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $161.00 and last traded at $161.00, with a volume of 27603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.64 and a beta of 0.49.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.05 million. Argan had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 6.11%. The company's revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Argan's payout ratio is presently 47.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total transaction of $896,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,444.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total transaction of $602,383.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 236,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,015,962.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total value of $896,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,444.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth $70,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth $91,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.