Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $148.82, but opened at $156.25. Argan shares last traded at $145.50, with a volume of 267,112 shares trading hands.

The construction company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.74. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The business had revenue of $257.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.60 million. The company's revenue was up 56.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGX has been the subject of several research reports. CJS Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Argan in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Lake Street Capital lowered shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total transaction of $896,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 70,422 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,444.96. This represents a 12.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $481,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,631.48. This trade represents a 22.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 1.8% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,796 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Argan by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 10,862 shares of the construction company's stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 68.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the construction company's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the construction company's stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Argan Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78 and a beta of 0.53. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $135.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.20.

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.