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

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $470.40.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AGX shares. Zacks Research lowered Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Argan from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock opened at $573.96 on Thursday. Argan has a 1 year low of $197.00 and a 1 year high of $805.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $646.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $571.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.44 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Argan will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 17.57%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total value of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. The trade was a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,411,120. This trade represents a 29.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828 in the last quarter. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Argan by 12.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,854 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Argan by 118.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $286,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Argan

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.