Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Sells $1,793,738.32 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.84, for a total value of $1,793,738.32. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,329,680. The trade was a 57.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, April 21st, John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 3,636 shares of Argan stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.40, for a total value of $2,237,594.40.
• On Tuesday, March 31st, John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of Argan stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total value of $2,459,556.60.

Argan Trading Up 4.9%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $703.06 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $157.88 and a 12 month high of $704.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.18 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $527.67 and a 200-day moving average of $404.99.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The company had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $255.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Argan’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 20.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AGX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.40.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Argan by 0.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Argan by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 599,149 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $187,725,000 after buying an additional 39,683 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,503,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Argan by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 435,761 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $117,677,000 after buying an additional 4,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Argan by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 400,379 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $125,462,000 after buying an additional 80,415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.