Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey Sells 3,636 Shares

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

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 stock was sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $1,803,900.00.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $650.28 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.98 and a 1-year high of $651.99. The company has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.76 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $499.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $389.88.

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

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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 20.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Company Profile

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.