Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading 7.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s stock price rose 7.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $447.31 and last traded at $445.16. Approximately 363,147 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 386,357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $414.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AGX shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, December 1st. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.20.

Argan Trading Up 9.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.29 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $377.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.15.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.56%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related 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 $2,461,682.37. This trade represents a 45.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 42.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,915 shares of company stock valued at $20,182,794. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Argan during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 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.