Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Sells 300 Shares of Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director Karen Sweeney sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,091,340. The trade was a 16.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX traded up $29.89 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $720.28. 317,398 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 407,867. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.82 and a 52-week high of $779.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $650.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.75. The company has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.29 and a beta of 0.59.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results 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 during 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 was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Argan announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Argan by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,854 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Argan by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 2,881 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Argan by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,665,000 after acquiring an additional 4,196 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Argan by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $286,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AGX. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

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.