Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Sells $3,350,497.20 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director Peter Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.65, for a total transaction of $3,350,497.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,875,512. This trade represents a 40.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $738.43 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.82 and a 1 year high of $779.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $659.74 and its 200 day moving average is $489.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.89 and a beta of 0.58.

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

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 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 currently 17.57%.

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

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 12.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,854 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 118.3% in 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 13.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 37.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth about $286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target 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. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.