Argan (NYSE:AGX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Argan in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Argan from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Argan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.00.

Argan Trading Down 1.8%

AGX opened at $349.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $420.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $567.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.56. Argan has a 1 year low of $257.62 and a 1 year high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. The firm had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.53 million. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Argan will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Argan’s payout ratio is 15.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,228.12. This trade represents a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,764,086,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Argan by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $431,010,000 after buying an additional 192,204 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Argan by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 610,899 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $332,726,000 after buying an additional 12,300 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in Argan by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 464,759 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $253,131,000 after buying an additional 25,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Argan by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 397,962 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $216,728,000 after acquiring an additional 4,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

About Argan

Argan, Inc is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance services for the power generation and renewable energy industries. Its work supports the development, construction and improvement of utility-scale energy infrastructure.

Through its subsidiaries, Argan offers engineering and construction management, project development support, procurement, installation, startup and commissioning services. Its projects have included natural gas-fired power plants, solar and other renewable energy facilities, and related industrial and electrical infrastructure.

Argan’s principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services for power generation and renewable energy projects, and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering, project management and construction-related services.