Argan (NYSE:AGX) Chairman William Griffin, Jr. Sells 30,000 Shares

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 transaction of $21,775,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 60,976 shares in the company, valued at $44,259,429.60. This represents a 32.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Argan Trading Down 6.8%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $736.53 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $666.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $495.94. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.90 and a 12-month high of $791.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.72 and a beta of 0.58.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. Argan’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AGX. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the first quarter worth $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.