Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $425.40.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AGX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Lake Street Capital lifted 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th.

Argan Stock Down 0.7%

AGX opened at $697.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.63 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $527.67 and its 200-day moving average is $406.51. Argan has a 52-week low of $157.88 and a 52-week high of $715.98.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. The company had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $255.32 million. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Argan will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $630.58, for a total transaction of $220,703.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,703. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total transaction of $1,885,080.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,302,380.92. The trade was a 30.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,503,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Argan by 69.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 559,466 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $151,084,000 after buying an additional 230,073 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Argan by 168.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,862,000 after buying an additional 159,149 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Argan by 172.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,687,000 after purchasing an additional 145,516 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Argan in the third quarter worth $35,629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.