Argan (NYSE:AGX) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Argan (NYSE:AGX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

AGX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

Argan Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $748.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 65.79 and a beta of 0.58. Argan has a 12-month low of $196.90 and a 12-month high of $791.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $671.54 and a 200 day moving average of $501.64.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Argan will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 1,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.35, for a total transaction of $1,329,818.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,297,536.75. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total transaction of $15,208,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 40,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,159,379.68. This trade represents a 32.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 186,800 shares of company stock valued at $123,296,561. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Argan by 2,950.0% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Argan during the third quarter worth about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 79.43% of the stock is 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.