Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.70 Per Share

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.70 per share by the construction company on Friday, October 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This is a 40.0% increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Argan has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Argan has a payout ratio of 27.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Argan to earn $17.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.7%.

Argan Trading Down 7.8%

NYSE AGX opened at $402.62 on Thursday. Argan has a 1-year low of $219.05 and a 1-year high of $805.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $550.96 and a 200-day moving average of $584.70. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%.The company had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Argan will post 13.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Freedom Broker upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Tuesday. They set an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 price target for the company. Finally, Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $437.50.

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.