Argan (NYSE:AGX) CEO Sells $1,329,818.00 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 1,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.35, for a total transaction of $1,329,818.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,297,536.75. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

David Hibbert Watson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 15th, David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total transaction of $6,507,641.46.
• On Friday, April 17th, David Hibbert Watson sold 19,310 shares of Argan stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.11, for a total value of $11,626,744.10.

Argan Stock Up 2.6%

Argan stock opened at $738.43 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.82 and a twelve month high of $779.00. The company has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.89 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $656.75 and its 200 day moving average is $487.55.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.57%.

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

Key Argan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Argan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argan’s recent quarterly results were excellent, with EPS of $3.24 beating estimates by a wide margin and revenue rising 50.2% year over year, reinforcing confidence in the company’s execution and profitability. Argan earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Argan’s backlog as 79% gas-focused and tied to rising power demand from data centers, electrification, and reshoring, which supports the view that project demand remains strong. Zacks backlog article
• Neutral Sentiment: The company has a $200 million share repurchase authorization and recently declared a quarterly dividend, both of which can support the stock, but they are longer-term capital-return factors rather than immediate catalysts. Argan capital return details
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders, including CEO David Hibbert Watson, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher, and directors Peter W. Getsinger and Karen Sweeney, sold shares this week, and clustered insider selling can weigh on investor sentiment. Insider selling alert

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,503,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Argan by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 559,466 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $151,084,000 after buying an additional 230,073 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 168.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,862,000 after buying an additional 159,149 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 172.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,687,000 after buying an additional 145,516 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth $35,629,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.