Argan (NYSE:AGX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday morning.

Separately, Lake Street Capital upped their price target on shares of Argan from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday.

Argan Stock Down 0.5 %

AGX stock opened at $59.46 on Monday. Argan has a twelve month low of $37.37 and a twelve month high of $61.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $787.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.72.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $164.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $162.05 million. Argan had a net margin of 5.64% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.46) earnings per share.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 50.21%.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the third quarter worth about $493,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the third quarter worth about $666,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Azarias Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Argan by 37.6% in the third quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 173,143 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,881,000 after acquiring an additional 47,332 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Argan by 9.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 395,664 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,011,000 after acquiring an additional 32,958 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, technical, and consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Industry Services, Industrial Fabrication and Field Services, and Telecommunications Infrastructure Services segments.