Argan (NYSE:AGX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.97 EPS

Argan (NYSE:AGX) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.97, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE AGX traded up $3.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $689.63. The stock had a trading volume of 352,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,945. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.80 and a beta of 0.58. Argan has a one year low of $193.82 and a one year high of $748.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $626.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $464.28.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total value of $6,879,979.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,847,215.20. This trade represents a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $630.58, for a total transaction of $220,703.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,703. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Argan by 1,116.4% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,587 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,824,000 after acquiring an additional 17,059 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Crusonia Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in shares of Argan by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 2,696 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research lowered Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.