Peter Getsinger Sells 6,493 Shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director Peter Getsinger sold 6,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.39, for a total transaction of $1,911,474.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,577.83. This trade represents a 39.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Argan Trading Down 6.2%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $263.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $250.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.17. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.02 and a 52 week high of $320.00.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is 18.03%.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 273.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 68,628 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,226,000 after buying an additional 50,230 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 69,394 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,585,000 after buying an additional 10,074 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,756 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,067,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter worth $207,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Glj Research assumed coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.20.

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.