Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.60, for a total transaction of $363,360.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $895,682.40. The trade was a 28.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.
Argan Trading Up 2.0%
NYSE AGX opened at $609.57 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $489.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $385.56. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.07 and a 12-month high of $620.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.58 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Argan Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have recently issued reports on AGX. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Lake Street Capital boosted 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 restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $425.40.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Argan
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new stake in Argan in the third quarter valued at $14,138,000. Thames Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,175,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $971,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 125.3% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,505 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,377,000 after buying an additional 6,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,629,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Argan
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Get Free Report)
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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