Argan (NYSE:AGX) CEO David Hibbert Watson Sells 9,993 Shares of Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total transaction of $6,507,641.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at $26,052,056.10. This trade represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, June 16th, David Hibbert Watson sold 1,880 shares of Argan stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.35, for a total transaction of $1,329,818.00.
• 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 transaction of $11,626,744.10.

Argan Trading Up 0.2%

AGX stock opened at $690.38 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.82 and a 52 week high of $779.00. The company has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.67 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $650.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $482.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly 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. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. Argan’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan announced that its board has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating 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 research note on Saturday, March 28th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to 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 and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $431,010,000 after purchasing an additional 192,204 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 25,901 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 worth $117,677,000 after purchasing an additional 4,027 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.