Argan (NYSE:AGX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AGX. Freedom Broker upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Argan in a report on Tuesday. They set an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered Argan from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Lake Street Capital upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.50.

Argan Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of AGX stock opened at $414.07 on Thursday. Argan has a 12 month low of $227.79 and a 12 month high of $805.75. The firm has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $538.95 and a 200-day moving average of $583.23.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The business had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. Argan’s revenue was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Argan will post 13.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman William Griffin, Jr. sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $725.85, for a total value of $21,775,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 60,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,259,429.60. The trade was a 32.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Watson sold 9,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total value of $6,507,641.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at $26,052,056.10. This trade represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,973 shares of company stock worth $55,381,828 in the last 90 days. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,764,086,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Argan in the second quarter worth about $6,156,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the first quarter worth approximately $1,728,000. Thames Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 51,794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,228,000 after purchasing an additional 10,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,574,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

About Argan

Argan, Inc is an engineering, procurement and construction company that provides services to the power generation and energy infrastructure industries. The company supports the development, construction, commissioning and maintenance of power facilities, including natural gas-fired power plants, renewable energy projects and energy storage installations.

Argan primarily operates through subsidiaries including Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, project management and construction services for power generation projects; The Roberts Company, which performs industrial fabrication, equipment installation and field services; and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering and construction services for power and industrial facilities.