Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading Up 7.1% – Should You Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s stock price rose 7.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $440.86 and last traded at $443.4820. Approximately 13,036 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 399,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $414.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AGX. Glj Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.20.

Argan Trading Up 1.5%

The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.65 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $353.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Argan’s payout ratio is 23.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total transaction of $4,187,332.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 49,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,934,371.85. The trade was a 18.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total transaction of $7,347,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,134,246.90. The trade was a 42.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,915 shares of company stock valued at $20,182,794. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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.