Argan (NYSE:AGX) Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey Sells 2,698 Shares

Key Points

• Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares on April 27 at an average price of $664.84 for about $1.79M and, after a series of recent sales, has cut his holding by 57.43% to 2,000 shares.
• Argan's board approved a $200 million stock repurchase program (up to 2.5% of shares) and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share (annualized $2.00, ex-dividend April 22, yield ~0.3%).
• The company reported a strong quarter with EPS of $3.47 versus the $1.99 consensus and $262.05M in revenue, and analysts’ ratings skew toward Buy with a consensus price target of $425.40.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.84, for a total value of $1,793,738.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,329,680. The trade was a 57.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, April 21st, John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 3,636 shares of Argan stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.40, for a total value of $2,237,594.40.
• On Tuesday, March 31st, John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of Argan stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total value of $2,459,556.60.

Argan Stock Down 0.3%

Argan stock traded down $2.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $628.56. The stock had a trading volume of 218,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,860. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $522.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $403.12. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $142.97 and a one year high of $683.12. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.53 and a beta of 0.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. The company had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.32 million. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The firm's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.43% of the stock is 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.