Argan, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.30 (NYSE:AGX)

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share by the construction company on Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th.

Argan has raised its dividend by an average of 1.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Argan has a dividend payout ratio of 30.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE AGX opened at $61.25 on Wednesday. Argan has a 1 year low of $37.37 and a 1 year high of $61.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $49.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $810.95 million, a P/E ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 0.49.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.14. Argan had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 5.64%. The company had revenue of $164.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.46) earnings per share. Argan’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AGX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on Argan from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Argan by 390.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,620 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth $80,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter valued at $109,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 519.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,517 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, technical, and consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Industry Services, Industrial Fabrication and Field Services, and Telecommunications Infrastructure Services segments.