Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Down 6.4% After Insider Selling

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 6.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $204.40 and last traded at $206.32. 118,220 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 347,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $220.48.

Specifically, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,456 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.01, for a total value of $732,706.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,157,888.95. This trade represents a 18.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 4,051 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.25, for a total transaction of $896,283.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 58,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,885,600. The trade was a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AGX. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th.

Argan Trading Up 1.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $197.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.73.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $193.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.75 million. Argan had a return on equity of 29.61% and a net margin of 11.00%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $23,064,000. Goodlander Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,364,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company's stock worth $92,170,000 after purchasing an additional 116,783 shares in the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 286.8% during the fourth quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 117,384 shares of the construction company's stock worth $16,086,000 after purchasing an additional 87,038 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the first quarter valued at approximately $11,307,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

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.