Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) CFO Sells $389,403.08 in Stock

Key Points

• Argan, Inc. CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,604 shares at an average price of $242.77, resulting in a total transaction value of $389,403.08 and a 17.05% decrease in his ownership stake.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.60, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 22.8%.
• Argan recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, reflecting a 0.6% yield and a payout ratio of 21.04%.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.77, for a total value of $389,403.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,894,091.54. The trade was a 17.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of Argan stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $225.62. 101,371 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 442,951. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.53 and a 1 year high of $253.79. The stock's fifty day moving average is $216.04 and its 200 day moving average is $170.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86 and a beta of 0.59.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.75 million. Argan had a return on equity of 29.61% and a net margin of 11.00%. Argan's revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is 21.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AGX. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets lowered Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 82,585 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $92,170,000 after buying an additional 116,783 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Argan by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 529,052 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $72,502,000 after buying an additional 29,062 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 36,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Argan by 37.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,475,000 after buying an additional 80,844 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.