Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director Peter Getsinger Sells 4,728 Shares

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Director Peter Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of Argan stock traded up $29.89 on Wednesday, hitting $720.28. The company had a trading volume of 317,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,867. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.29 and a beta of 0.59. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.82 and a twelve month high of $779.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $650.54 and a 200-day moving average of $482.75.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given 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 dividend payout ratio is 17.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

Key Stories Impacting Argan

Here are the key news stories impacting Argan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argan’s backlog is heavily weighted toward gas projects, and rising power demand could help support future growth and revenue visibility. Argan’s Backlog Is 79% Gas-Focused: Can Power Demand Fuel Upside?
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also recently reported strong quarterly results, with earnings and revenue both beating expectations, which continues to reinforce the bullish long-term setup for AGX.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by CEO David Hibbert Watson, Chairman William F. Griffin Jr., and Director Cynthia Flanders may raise some caution among investors, even though the sales do not necessarily signal a change in business fundamentals. Argan (NYSE:AGX) CEO David Hibbert Watson Sells 1,880 Shares

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,503,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Argan by 69.8% during 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. increased its stake in shares of Argan by 168.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,862,000 after acquiring an additional 159,149 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Argan by 172.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,687,000 after acquiring an additional 145,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,629,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.