Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Saturday . The stock traded as high as $779.00 and last traded at $695.56, with a volume of 1077723 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $689.43.

Key Headlines Impacting Argan

Here are the key news stories impacting Argan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argan beat expectations with first-quarter earnings of $3.24 per share versus $2.27 expected, while revenue of $290.95 million also topped estimates. Revenue rose 50.2% year over year, highlighting continued strength in the company’s power-project construction business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management said Argan expects to add new projects over the next 10 to 18 months, reinforcing investor confidence in its backlog-driven growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The board increased the share repurchase authorization to $200 million, which can support earnings per share and signals confidence in the company’s cash generation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary also pointed to a strong power-project backlog and record quarterly results, suggesting the company is benefiting from demand tied to AI/data-center power needs and broader electrification trends. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several earnings-call transcripts and presentation posts largely reiterate the same quarterly results and management commentary, adding context but not materially changing the investment story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage also notes the stock had already rallied ahead of earnings, so part of the move may reflect investors positioning for strong results and shareholder returns. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Argan Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $636.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $468.26. The stock has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.12 and a beta of 0.58.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 37.94%. The business’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Argan declared that its board has approved 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.49, for a total value of $5,053,649.56. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,834,342.55. This trade represents a 16.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 19,310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.11, for a total transaction of $11,626,744.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,998 shares in the company, valued at $30,104,295.78. This represents a 27.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 over the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DV Trading LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the 1st quarter worth about $327,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new position in Argan in the 1st quarter worth about $301,000. Norris Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,850,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $264,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.