Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Price Up 12.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) rose 12.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $369.23 and last traded at $369.8480. Approximately 140,732 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 277,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $329.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AGX shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Lake Street Capital downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Glj Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $355.20.

Argan Trading Up 14.9%

The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.62 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $335.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.10.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The firm had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 23.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total value of $2,068,917.45. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,461,682.37. This trade represents a 45.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.04, for a total value of $328,040.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 24,664 shares of company stock worth $7,728,116 over the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. 4J Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Argan by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadent Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $1,653,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.