Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 573,000 shares, a growth of 22.1% from the November 30th total of 469,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 309,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 4.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, CJS Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Argan Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:AGX traded down $2.23 on Tuesday, hitting $136.69. 125,770 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 183,293. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $144.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.66. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60 and a beta of 0.53. Argan has a 1 year low of $43.44 and a 1 year high of $165.33.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.74. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The company 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 31.38%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total value of $1,460,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares in the company, valued at $7,491,050.55. The trade was a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total value of $1,314,660.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 219,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,606,257.90. This represents a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,703 shares of company stock valued at $3,377,544 over the last 90 days. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Argan by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 112,979 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,266,000 after acquiring an additional 3,314 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,060,000. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at $258,000. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 4.4% in the second 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. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Argan by 61.2% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 7,575 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 2,877 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.