Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey Sells 5,716 Shares

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,468,228.12. The trade was a 69.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Argan Price Performance

AGX opened at $618.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.33 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $655.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $562.95. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.00 and a 1-year high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,503,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Argan by 32.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $431,010,000 after purchasing an additional 192,204 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Argan by 168.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,862,000 after purchasing an additional 159,149 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Argan by 172.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,687,000 after purchasing an additional 145,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth $34,647,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AGX. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.