Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Sells $1,350,072.36 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director William Leimkuhler sold 4,212 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.53, for a total transaction of $1,350,072.36. Following the sale, the director owned 60,983 shares in the company, valued at $19,546,880.99. This represents a 6.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock traded up $3.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $317.87. 305,924 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 301,713. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.44. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.02 and a 12-month high of $399.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44 and a beta of 0.64.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The business’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 23.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 229.3% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 4,028 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,772,000. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 81.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 8,084 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 3,638 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $418,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AGX. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Lake Street Capital cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. CJS Securities raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Argan in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $355.20.

Argan Company Profile

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.