Argan (NYSE:AGX) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Argan Trading Up 1.4%

AGX stock opened at $417.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.57. Argan has a 12-month low of $197.00 and a 12-month high of $805.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $572.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $583.47.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%.The business had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Argan will post 13.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.82%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total transaction of $32,173,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,539,416.96. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total transaction of $3,313,222.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,468,228.12. This represents a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Argan by 2,950.0% during the first 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 Argan during the second quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Key Argan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Argan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lake Street upgraded AGX to Buy from Hold and set a $600 price target, citing improved fundamentals and growth prospects. Based on the referenced price of $417.52, the target implies substantial potential upside. Lake Street upgrades Argan to Buy from Hold
• Positive Sentiment: Argan’s fiscal second-quarter results significantly exceeded expectations. Earnings per share came in at $3.76 versus the $2.64 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $383.98 million compared with expectations of $300.53 million. Revenue increased 61.5% year over year, and the company reported a 15.09% net margin and 38.51% return on equity. Why Argan Stock Just Popped
• Positive Sentiment: Power-segment growth and margin expansion strengthened the outlook. Analysts highlighted approximately 53% Power revenue growth, solid project margins and a backlog of roughly $2.5 billion. Demand tied to electrification, data centers and domestic manufacturing could support continued demand for Argan’s power-infrastructure construction services. Argan Stock Rises on Q2 Earnings and Revenue Beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Management pointed to a strong gas-project pipeline and plans to expand capacity, but cautioned that revenue growth may moderate in the near term as project timing and execution affect results. Argan Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

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.