Argan, Inc. (AGX) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 19th

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given 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 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 payout ratio of 30.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Argan Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE AGX opened at $61.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $810.95 million, a P/E ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 0.49. Argan has a 52-week low of $37.37 and a 52-week high of $61.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.83.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on AGX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Lake Street Capital upped their target price on shares of 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

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Argan by 390.9% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth $80,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the first quarter valued at $109,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Argan by 519.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,517 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 2,949 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.