David Hibbert Watson Sells 1,880 Shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 1,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.35, for a total value of $1,329,818.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,297,536.75. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

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 value 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $720.28 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.82 and a 1-year high of $779.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $653.49 and a 200-day moving average of $485.14. The company has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.29 and a beta of 0.58.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The company had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Argan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Argan by 2,950.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Freedom Capital raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

More Argan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Argan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argan’s recent earnings report was strong, with quarterly EPS of $3.24 beating estimates by $0.93 and revenue rising 50.2% year over year, reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth and profitability. Argan stock performance and earnings details
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Argan’s backlog, noting it is 79% gas-focused and positioned to benefit from rising power demand, which could support future revenue visibility and project growth. Zacks article on backlog and power demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Argan also has support from its capital return actions, including a quarterly dividend and a $200 million share buyback authorization, both of which can help underpin the stock over time. Argan insider trades and company actions
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders sold shares over the past few days, including CEO David Hibbert Watson, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr., and directors Peter W. Getsinger and Karen Sweeney, which may be pressuring sentiment because heavy insider selling often raises valuation caution. Insider selling alert for Argan

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.