Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading Up 4.5% - Here's What Happened

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 4.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $135.61 and last traded at $135.15. 23,663 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 151,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.28.

Argan Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.15 and a beta of 0.53. The company's fifty day moving average price is $89.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.72.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The company had revenue of $227.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.05 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a boost from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 15,134 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 44,348 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 15,134 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.79, for a total value of $1,177,273.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 44,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,449,830.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 1,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.31, for a total transaction of $147,614.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 175,719 shares in the company, valued at $13,760,554.89. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,539 shares of company stock worth $4,820,475. 11.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Argan by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 726,171 shares of the construction company's stock worth $36,701,000 after buying an additional 12,162 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Argan by 7.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 537,296 shares of the construction company's stock worth $39,309,000 after buying an additional 38,300 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Argan by 31.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 305,298 shares of the construction company's stock worth $22,336,000 after buying an additional 73,658 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Argan by 32.8% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 175,245 shares of the construction company's stock worth $12,811,000 after buying an additional 43,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 112,979 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $8,266,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by 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.