Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director James W. Quinn Sells 11,897 Shares

Key Points

• Argan Director James Quinn sold 11,897 shares for a total of $3,101,904.81, reducing his position by 71.85%.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.50, which surpassed analysts' expectations of $1.99, with a revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter.
• Argan announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.38 to $0.50 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 0.7%.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) Director James W. Quinn sold 11,897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total transaction of $3,101,904.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,215,001.80. This represents a 71.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Argan Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE AGX traded down $3.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $265.25. 102,329 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 430,040. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $228.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.86. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $93.26 and a one year high of $270.12. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 0.62.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The firm had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is 18.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Glj Research initiated coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $220.25.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company's stock worth $121,485,000 after acquiring an additional 82,585 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Argan by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 517,302 shares of the construction company's stock worth $67,855,000 after purchasing an additional 36,644 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 14,436.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 329,393 shares of the construction company's stock worth $72,624,000 after acquiring an additional 327,127 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 324,356 shares of the construction company's stock worth $71,514,000 after acquiring an additional 5,575 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Argan by 3.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 314,453 shares of the construction company's stock worth $69,339,000 after acquiring an additional 11,788 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Company Profile

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.