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

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 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th.

Argan has increased its dividend by an average of 1.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Argan has a dividend payout ratio of 30.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $60.05 on Thursday. Argan has a 1 year low of $37.37 and a 1 year high of $62.04. The firm has a market cap of $795.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.92.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $164.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.46) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 38.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 714,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,408,000 after purchasing an additional 17,150 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Argan by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 43,576 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,039,000 after buying an additional 9,219 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Argan by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 12,648 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in Argan by 662.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,425 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,704,000 after buying an additional 31,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 102.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Company Profile

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.