Argan (NYSE:AGX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $620.00 and last traded at $582.4610, with a volume of 808565 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $597.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.40.

Argan Stock Up 0.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.14 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $494.86 and its 200 day moving average is $388.04.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The business had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $255.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.53%.

Argan announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 19,310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.11, for a total transaction of $11,626,744.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,104,295.78. This represents a 27.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total transaction of $2,459,556.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,894.60. This represents a 55.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,491 shares of company stock valued at $22,733,806. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,138,000. Thames Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,175,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $971,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Argan by 125.3% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,505 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,377,000 after buying an additional 6,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,629,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.