Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Sells $688,757.92 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director William Leimkuhler sold 2,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.28, for a total value of $688,757.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 65,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,750,264.60. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $383.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 45.21 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $337.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.23. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $101.02 and a one year high of $399.30.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 23.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Argan in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective on the stock. Lake Street Capital lowered 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 note on Friday, December 5th. Glj Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, CJS Securities raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AGX. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Argan by 14,436.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 329,393 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $72,624,000 after buying an additional 327,127 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Argan by 696.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 296,988 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $65,480,000 after acquiring an additional 259,720 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 1,142.2% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 188,665 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,597,000 after purchasing an additional 173,477 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 168.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,862,000 after buying an additional 159,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 172.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,687,000 after buying an additional 145,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.