William Leimkuhler Sells 8,444 Shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock

Key Points

• Director William Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of Argan on April 13 at an average price of $598.49 for a total of $5.05 million, trimming his stake by 16.91% to 41,495 shares (SEC filing).
• Argan posted a strong quarter—EPS $3.47 vs. $1.99 expected and revenue $262.05M (up 12.7% YoY)—and the board approved a $200 million share repurchase plan while declaring a $0.50 quarterly dividend ($2.00 annualized, ~0.3% yield).

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) Director William Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.49, for a total transaction of $5,053,649.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,495 shares in the company, valued at $24,834,342.55. This represents a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $604.00 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.07 and a fifty-two week high of $618.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $469.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $376.18. The company has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.01 and a beta of 0.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. The firm had revenue of $262.05 million during 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%.Argan's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Argan declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AGX. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Freedom Capital raised Argan to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $425.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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