Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Receives $220.25 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $220.25.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Glj Research assumed coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE AGX opened at $260.32 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $230.32 and its 200 day moving average is $192.84. Argan has a fifty-two week low of $95.42 and a fifty-two week high of $270.11.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The business had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 18.03%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 4,660 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.35, for a total value of $1,208,571.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen Sweeney sold 390 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.25, for a total value of $103,057.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,315 shares in the company, valued at $347,488.75. This trade represents a 22.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,436 shares of company stock valued at $12,881,783. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 2,987.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 1,116.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $129,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.