William Leimkuhler Sells 11,044 Shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director William Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total transaction of $4,187,332.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,939 shares in the company, valued at $18,934,371.85. This represents a 18.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $380.72 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.02 and a fifty-two week high of $400.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $340.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.84 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AGX. Glj Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price target for the company. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the third quarter valued at $32,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Argan by 26.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.