Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $509.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on AGX. Freedom Broker raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the sale, the director owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,468,228.12. The trade was a 69.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 2.0% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,030 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Argan by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 4,333 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argan Stock Performance

AGX opened at $328.77 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $409.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.41. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.56. Argan has a twelve month low of $276.28 and a twelve month high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. The company had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Argan will post 13.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 22.15%.

About Argan

Argan, Inc is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance services for the power generation and renewable energy industries. Its work supports the development, construction and improvement of utility-scale energy infrastructure.

Through its subsidiaries, Argan offers engineering and construction management, project development support, procurement, installation, startup and commissioning services. Its projects have included natural gas-fired power plants, solar and other renewable energy facilities, and related industrial and electrical infrastructure.

Argan’s principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services for power generation and renewable energy projects, and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering, project management and construction-related services.