Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) Chairman Sells $21,775,500.00 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Chairman William Griffin, Jr. sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $725.85, for a total value of $21,775,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 60,976 shares in the company, valued at $44,259,429.60. This trade represents a 32.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Argan Price Performance

Argan stock opened at $748.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $671.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $501.64. The stock has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.79 and a beta of 0.58. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.90 and a 1-year high of $791.38.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AGX shares. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

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.