Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Sells $1,398,000.00 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director Peter Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,411,120. The trade was a 29.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Argan Stock Performance

AGX opened at $738.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 64.89 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $659.74 and its 200-day moving average is $489.31. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $193.82 and a one year high of $779.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The business 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 company’s quarterly 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, equities research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 17.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,629,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $478,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,748,000. Alpine Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at $16,203,000. Finally, Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at $699,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. 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, Argan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

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.