Argan (NYSE:AGX) Chairman Sells $15,208,600.00 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Chairman William Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total value of $15,208,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,159,379.68. The trade was a 32.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Argan Stock Down 6.8%

AGX traded down $53.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $736.53. 437,546 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,993. The company’s 50-day moving average is $663.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.23. The company has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.72 and a beta of 0.58. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.90 and a 12-month high of $791.38.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AGX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.