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

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at $26,052,056.10. This represents a 19.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $720.28 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.82 and a 12 month high of $779.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $653.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $485.14.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is 17.57%.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan News Summary

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AGX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital increased 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. 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 research note 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $137,503,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Argan by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 559,466 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $151,084,000 after purchasing an additional 230,073 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Argan by 168.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,862,000 after purchasing an additional 159,149 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Argan by 172.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,687,000 after purchasing an additional 145,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,629,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.