Argan, Inc. (AGX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 on January 30th

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the construction company on Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd.

Argan has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Argan has a dividend payout ratio of 27.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $383.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.21 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $338.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.50. Argan has a 1-year low of $101.02 and a 1-year high of $399.30.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The company had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 4,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.53, for a total transaction of $1,350,072.36. Following the sale, the director owned 60,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,546,880.99. This represents a 6.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.04, for a total value of $328,040.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 18,171 shares of company stock worth $5,816,642 over the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 14,436.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 329,393 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,624,000 after buying an additional 327,127 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 696.9% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 296,988 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $65,480,000 after purchasing an additional 259,720 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Argan by 1,142.2% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 188,665 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,597,000 after purchasing an additional 173,477 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Argan by 168.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,862,000 after purchasing an additional 159,149 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Argan by 172.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,687,000 after purchasing an additional 145,516 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Argan

Argan, Inc (NYSE: AGX) is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company’s principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.