Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Cynthia Flanders Sells 15,000 Shares

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.96, for a total value of $4,079,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,467,758.88. This trade represents a 47.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Cynthia Flanders also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 30th, Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $469,120.00.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $281.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $239.86 and a 200-day moving average of $203.37. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $101.02 and a one year high of $283.35.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.97 million. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.Argan’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS.

Argan Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Argan by 14,436.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 329,393 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $72,624,000 after acquiring an additional 327,127 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 696.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 296,988 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $65,480,000 after buying an additional 259,720 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 1,142.2% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 188,665 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,597,000 after buying an additional 173,477 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 168.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,862,000 after buying an additional 159,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 172.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,687,000 after buying an additional 145,516 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. Glj Research started coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.25.

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.