Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) CEO Sells $1,460,500.00 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total value of $1,460,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,491,050.55. This trade represents a 16.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Argan Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:AGX traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.33. 478,620 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 183,911. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.44 and a 1-year high of $165.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.51 and a 200 day moving average of $102.36.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.74. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $257.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.60 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 56.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AGX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Lake Street Capital downgraded Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, CJS Securities restated a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth about $91,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Company Profile

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.