Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Sells $3,313,222.24 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total transaction of $3,313,222.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,468,228.12. The trade was a 69.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of Argan stock traded up $25.57 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $618.23. 237,139 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 395,594. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.00 and a 52-week high of $805.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $656.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $560.83. The company has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.33 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGX. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $478,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,748,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $5,574,000. Thames Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Argan by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 51,794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,228,000 after acquiring an additional 10,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the first quarter worth approximately $1,728,000. Hedge funds and other 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.