Brokerages Set Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Target Price at $470.40

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $437.50.

Several equities analysts recently commented on AGX shares. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Argan in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 target price for the company. Freedom Broker raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,468,228.12. This represents a 69.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.65, for a total value of $3,350,497.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,875,512. This represents a 40.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,973 shares of company stock worth $55,381,828. Insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $414.07 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $538.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $583.23. The company has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.57. Argan has a 52 week low of $227.79 and a 52 week high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%.The firm had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Argan will post 13.56 EPS for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.82%.

About Argan

Argan, Inc is an engineering, procurement and construction company that provides services to the power generation and energy infrastructure industries. The company supports the development, construction, commissioning and maintenance of power facilities, including natural gas-fired power plants, renewable energy projects and energy storage installations.

Argan primarily operates through subsidiaries including Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, project management and construction services for power generation projects; The Roberts Company, which performs industrial fabrication, equipment installation and field services; and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering and construction services for power and industrial facilities.