Insider Selling: Argan (NYSE:AGX) CFO Sells 600 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 600 shares on April 16 at an average price of $605.60 for $363,360, trimming his holdings by 28.86% to 1,479 shares (≈$895,682).
• Argan reported a strong quarter—EPS $3.47 vs. $1.99 expected and revenue $262.05M (up 12.7% YoY)—and its board authorized a $200 million buyback (up to 2.5% of shares) while declaring a $0.50 quarterly dividend.
• Shares traded around $609.57 near a 1‑year high, giving Argan a market cap of about $8.5B and a P/E of 62.6; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $425.40.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 600 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.60, for a total value of $363,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $895,682.40. This represents a 28.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Argan Stock Performance

Argan stock traded up $11.69 during trading on Monday, hitting $609.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 282,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,847. The stock's fifty day moving average is $485.17 and its 200 day moving average is $383.19. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.07 and a 1-year high of $620.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.58 and a beta of 0.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $255.32 million. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 20.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $425.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

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.

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