Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Sells $584,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Peter Getsinger, a director at Argan, Inc., sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock for $584,000, reducing his position by 10.88%.
• Argan recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.38, with a dividend yield of 0.7%.
• Despite a dip in share price, Wall Street analysts are optimistic, with several upgrades and a target price increase for Argan from $220 to $315.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) Director Peter Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.00, for a total transaction of $584,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,785,880. This trade represents a 10.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of Argan stock traded down $8.99 on Tuesday, hitting $281.28. The company had a trading volume of 437,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,874. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.81 and a beta of 0.64. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.02 and a twelve month high of $320.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $249.62 and a 200-day moving average of $213.83.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan's dividend payout ratio is 18.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Glj Research initiated coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.20.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Argan by 9.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $121,485,000 after purchasing an additional 82,585 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Argan by 7.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 517,302 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $67,855,000 after purchasing an additional 36,644 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Argan by 14,436.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 329,393 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $72,624,000 after purchasing an additional 327,127 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Argan by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 324,356 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $71,514,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 3.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 314,453 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $69,339,000 after purchasing an additional 11,788 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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