Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Sells $2,237,594.40 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 3,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.40, for a total value of $2,237,594.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 31st, John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total value of $2,459,556.60.
• On Tuesday, January 27th, John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.78, for a total value of $1,803,900.00.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $656.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.36 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $509.12 and a 200 day moving average of $394.46. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.97 and a 1-year high of $683.12.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. The business had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.53%.

Argan declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

About Argan

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.