William F. Griffin, Jr. Sells 15,000 Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.99, for a total value of $899,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at $848,858.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.81. 119,597 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 72,317. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.73 and its 200-day moving average is $47.02. The stock has a market cap of $818.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79 and a beta of 0.49. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.37 and a 52 week high of $62.19.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.14. Argan had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 5.64%. The business had revenue of $164.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.46) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Argan’s payout ratio is 50.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on Argan from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Argan by 390.9% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,620 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the first quarter worth about $109,000. 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, technical, and consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Industry Services, Industrial Fabrication and Field Services, and Telecommunications Infrastructure Services segments.