Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $320.61 and last traded at $320.72, with a volume of 86026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $303.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AGX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.20.

Argan Stock Up 8.7%

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $263.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.66. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.59 and a beta of 0.64.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.09, for a total transaction of $2,920,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,135,642.54. The trade was a 32.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.12, for a total value of $3,618,049.28. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,570 shares in the company, valued at $13,340,278.40. The trade was a 21.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,795 shares of company stock valued at $29,401,111. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 22.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Argan by 1.9% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,036 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 6.5% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,354 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 2.6% during the third quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Company Profile

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.