Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Peter Getsinger Sells 2,000 Shares

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director Peter Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total value of $1,398,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,411,120. This represents a 29.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGX traded up $29.89 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $720.28. The stock had a trading volume of 317,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,867. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $193.82 and a one year high of $779.00. The stock has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a PE ratio of 63.29 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $650.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $482.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Argan by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 827,482 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $259,267,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 32.1% during 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 2.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 610,899 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $332,726,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 5.9% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 464,759 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $253,131,000 after purchasing an additional 25,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Argan by 0.9% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 435,761 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $117,677,000 after purchasing an additional 4,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Argan

Here are the key news stories impacting Argan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argan’s backlog is heavily weighted toward gas projects, and rising power demand could help support future growth and revenue visibility. Argan’s Backlog Is 79% Gas-Focused: Can Power Demand Fuel Upside?
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also recently reported strong quarterly results, with earnings and revenue both beating expectations, which continues to reinforce the bullish long-term setup for AGX.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by CEO David Hibbert Watson, Chairman William F. Griffin Jr., and Director Cynthia Flanders may raise some caution among investors, even though the sales do not necessarily signal a change in business fundamentals. Argan (NYSE:AGX) CEO David Hibbert Watson Sells 1,880 Shares

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.