Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) CEO Sells $6,507,641.46 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,052,056.10. This trade represents a 19.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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 shares were 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 Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $738.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 64.89 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $656.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.55. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.82 and a 12-month high of $779.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 currently 17.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Argan by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,854 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 37.3% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter worth approximately $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan News Summary

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings restated 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 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.