John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey Sells 2,700 Shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,700 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.60, for a total value of $1,027,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,020,875.20. This trade represents a 16.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Argan Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of AGX opened at $380.72 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $340.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $283.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 44.84 and a beta of 0.64. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.02 and a 12-month high of $400.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The firm had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Glj Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $355.20.

About Argan

Argan, Inc (NYSE: AGX) is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company’s principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.