Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $355.20.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Argan in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price target for the company. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, CJS Securities raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock opened at $346.70 on Friday. Argan has a one year low of $101.02 and a one year high of $400.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.84 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $341.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $289.80.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The company’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total transaction of $2,068,917.45. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,461,682.37. This represents a 45.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total value of $7,347,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,207 shares in the company, valued at $10,134,246.90. The trade was a 42.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 55,915 shares of company stock valued at $20,182,794 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Argan by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 827,482 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $259,267,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Argan by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 559,466 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $151,084,000 after acquiring an additional 230,073 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Argan by 0.9% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 435,761 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $117,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Argan by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 324,356 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,514,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 3.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 314,453 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,339,000 after purchasing an additional 11,788 shares during the last quarter. 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.