Insider Selling: 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total transaction of $15,208,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,159,379.68. This trade represents a 32.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Argan Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $748.66 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $671.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $501.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 65.79 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 research report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Argan by 0.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $431,010,000 after acquiring an additional 192,204 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 610,899 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $332,726,000 after acquiring an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in shares of Argan by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 464,759 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $253,131,000 after acquiring an additional 25,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 435,761 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $117,677,000 after purchasing an additional 4,027 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.