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

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th.

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

Argan Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $61.25 on Wednesday. Argan has a 12 month low of $37.37 and a 12 month high of $61.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $810.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.12 and a 200-day moving average of $46.83.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AGX. StockNews.com upgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on Argan from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Argan by 3.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 120,094 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the first quarter worth $109,000. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the first quarter worth $340,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 45.5% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,933 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 4.1% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,946 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.