Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $301.31 and last traded at $299.59, with a volume of 463767 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Glj Research started coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their target price on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.20.

Argan Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.01 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.20.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.97 million. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.03%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.73, for a total value of $3,242,363.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,668,864.82. This represents a 23.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.12, for a total value of $3,618,049.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,340,278.40. This represents a 21.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,027 shares of company stock valued at $23,954,396. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 1,116.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Argan during the first quarter worth approximately $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.