Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $425.40.

Several research firms recently issued reports on AGX. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total transaction of $2,459,556.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,636 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,894.60. This trade represents a 55.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 41,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,834,342.55. The trade was a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 over the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 827,482 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $259,267,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 192,204 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 464,759 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $253,131,000 after acquiring an additional 25,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 435,761 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $117,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argan Trading Up 3.2%

NYSE:AGX opened at $684.19 on Friday. Argan has a 12-month low of $193.82 and a 12-month high of $748.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $626.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $464.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.25 and a beta of 0.58.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The firm had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Argan will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Argan declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.