Argan (NYSE:AGX) CEO David Hibbert Watson Sells 1,880 Shares

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 1,880 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.35, for a total value of $1,329,818.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,297,536.75. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, June 15th, David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total value of $6,507,641.46.
• On Friday, April 17th, David Hibbert Watson sold 19,310 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.11, for a total value of $11,626,744.10.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $690.38 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.82 and a fifty-two week high of $779.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $650.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $482.75. The stock has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a PE ratio of 60.67 and a beta of 0.59.

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

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Argan by 2,950.0% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AGX shares. 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 note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company 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 given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.