Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $120.48, but opened at $125.78. Argan shares last traded at $128.80, with a volume of 183,434 shares changing hands.

Argan Stock Up 7.3 %

The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.07 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.34.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.38%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 15,134 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.79, for a total transaction of $1,177,273.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 44,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,449,830.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 15,134 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.79, for a total transaction of $1,177,273.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 44,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,449,830.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $481,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,631.48. 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 a total of 56,539 shares of company stock valued at $4,820,475 over the last quarter. Insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 29,062 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 10,862 shares of the construction company's stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Savant Capital LLC raised 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 during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,616 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.