Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) CEO Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider selling: CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 2,500 shares on April 20 at $610 and 11,068 shares on April 21 at $621.61, raising roughly $8.41 million and leaving him with 30,320 shares.
• Earnings beat and stock move: Argan reported Q earnings of $3.47 EPS vs. $1.99 expected and $262.05M revenue, and the stock jumped about 5.7% to $650.28 on the news.
• Capital return actions: The board authorized a $200 million repurchase program (about 2.5% of shares) and declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.00, yield ~0.3%, ex-dividend Apr 22).

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.00, for a total value of $1,525,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at $18,495,200. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Charles Edwin Iv Collins also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, April 21st, Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of Argan stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48.

Argan Trading Up 5.7%

Argan stock traded up $34.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $650.28. 271,434 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 452,559. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $139.98 and a one year high of $651.99. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $494.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $388.04. The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a PE ratio of 66.76 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Argan declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented 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. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $425.40.

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.

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