Insider Selling: Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) CEO Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.89, for a total transaction of $69,945.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,601,490.04. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Argan Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Argan stock traded up $2.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $151.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 243,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 301,570. The business has a fifty day moving average of $129.87 and a 200 day moving average of $140.60. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.03 and a 1-year high of $191.46. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61 and a beta of 0.45.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $1.07. The firm had revenue of $232.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.50 million. Argan had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 8.20%. Argan's quarterly revenue was up 41.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Argan's payout ratio is currently 24.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 843,583 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $115,605,000 after purchasing an additional 16,784 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $92,170,000 after purchasing an additional 116,783 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Argan by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 529,052 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $72,502,000 after purchasing an additional 29,062 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Argan by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 480,658 shares of the construction company's stock worth $65,869,000 after buying an additional 73,654 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Argan by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,475,000 after buying an additional 80,844 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.