Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Peter Getsinger Sells 6,595 Shares of Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director Peter Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total transaction of $2,068,917.45. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,461,682.37. This represents a 45.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $311.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.70 and a beta of 0.64. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $101.02 and a one year high of $399.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $335.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.24.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. Argan’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 23.56%.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Argan by 26.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Ring Mountain Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 1.3% in the third quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 151 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Argan by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC increased its stake in Argan by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $315.00 price target on Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, December 1st. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.20.

Argan Company Profile

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.