Wesbanco Bank Inc. Has $2.47 Million Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. has reduced its stake in Argan, Inc. by 30%, now holding 11,200 shares valued at approximately $2.47 million.
• Argan recently reported earnings of $2.50 per share, significantly surpassing estimates, along with a 4.7% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.50 per share, up from $0.38, with the dividend payout ratio standing at 18.03%.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lowered its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,200 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 4,800 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. owned 0.08% of Argan worth $2,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Goodlander Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $18,364,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $11,307,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Argan by 9.8% during the 1st 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. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,958,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Argan by 258.0% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 101,181 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $13,272,000 after purchasing an additional 72,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE AGX opened at $230.80 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.42. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.79 and a 12-month high of $253.79. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.74 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The business 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 a boost from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,553,970. This trade represents a 25.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $469,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,371,751.68. This trade represents a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,836 shares of company stock worth $6,380,666. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AGX. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set 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 three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $210.00.

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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