Charles Edwin Iv Collins Sells 10,000 Shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock

Key Points

• Argan, Inc. CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $309.37, totaling approximately $3.09 million, resulting in a 32.25% decrease in his ownership.
• The firm recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, to be paid on October 31st, up from the previous $0.38, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Argan's stock experienced a decline, trading at $283.25, despite the company reporting a net margin of 12.73% and beating analysts' EPS estimates with $2.50 last quarter.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.37, for a total transaction of $3,093,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,498,626.22. The trade was a 32.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Charles Edwin Iv Collins also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, October 13th, Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.09, for a total transaction of $2,920,900.00.
• On Wednesday, September 24th, Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.00, for a total transaction of $1,335,000.00.
• On Thursday, September 18th, Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 7,500 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $1,930,425.00.
• On Thursday, July 31st, Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,225,000.00.
• On Tuesday, July 29th, Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 1,500 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total transaction of $362,250.00.

Argan Stock Performance

Argan stock traded down $13.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $283.25. The company had a trading volume of 404,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 342,495. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.02 and a 12-month high of $320.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $247.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04 and a beta of 0.64.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Argan's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is presently 18.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AGX. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Glj Research began coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 9.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company's stock worth $121,485,000 after purchasing an additional 82,585 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 36,644 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 327,127 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 11,788 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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