Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director William Leimkuhler Sells 11,802 Shares

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director William Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.73, for a total value of $3,242,363.46. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,668,864.82. This represents a 23.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Argan Stock Up 3.3%

NYSE:AGX opened at $278.84 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $236.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.22. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.20 and a 52-week high of $279.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 1,116.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the first quarter worth approximately $109,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Glj Research initiated coverage on Argan in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.25.

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.