Key Points
- Insider sale: Director William Leimkuhler sold 2,164 shares on Jan. 12 at an average $318.28 for $688,757.92, cutting his stake by 3.21% to 65,195 shares valued at about $20.75 million (SEC filing).
- Results and dividend: Argan beat EPS estimates with $2.17 per share (vs. $1.82 expected) on $251.15M revenue (slightly below expectations) and declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend ($2.00 annual, 0.6% yield; ex-dividend Jan. 22).
- Market view and ownership: Analysts show a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $355.20, and institutional investors own roughly 79.4% after several funds materially increased positions.
Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) Director William Leimkuhler sold 2,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.28, for a total value of $688,757.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 65,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,750,264.60. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.
Argan Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $317.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $335.49 and a 200-day moving average of $276.73. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $101.02 and a one year high of $399.30.
Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $251.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share.
Argan Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Argan's payout ratio is 23.56%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $370.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $397.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Lake Street Capital lowered shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $355.20.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Argan
Institutional Trading of Argan
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Argan by 14,436.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 329,393 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $72,624,000 after buying an additional 327,127 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Argan by 696.9% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 296,988 shares of the construction company's stock worth $65,480,000 after acquiring an additional 259,720 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 1,142.2% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 188,665 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,597,000 after acquiring an additional 173,477 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 168.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company's stock worth $55,862,000 after acquiring an additional 159,149 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Argan by 172.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $50,687,000 after acquiring an additional 145,516 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Argan Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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