Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) CFO Sells $557,308.00 in Stock

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total value of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,084,550.70. The trade was a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Joshua Scott Baugher also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, April 16th, Joshua Scott Baugher sold 600 shares of Argan stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $605.60, for a total value of $363,360.00.

Argan Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:AGX opened at $738.43 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.82 and a 52 week high of $779.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $659.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $489.31. The company 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The company’s revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.57%.

Argan declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AGX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.