Argan (NYSE:AGX) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

Argan Stock Up 3.7 %

Argan stock opened at $136.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 43.05 and a beta of 0.53. Argan has a 52 week low of $39.74 and a 52 week high of $138.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.99.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.34. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The company had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.05 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is 47.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total value of $602,383.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 236,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,015,962.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Argan news, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total transaction of $602,383.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 236,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,015,962.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $481,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,670,631.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,703 shares of company stock worth $4,257,794 over the last three months. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Argan by 76.2% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,552 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,430 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,166,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 283.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 57,536 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,836,000 after acquiring an additional 42,527 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,628,000. Finally, MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter worth approximately $878,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.