Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Up 7.3% – Here’s What Happened

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) shares traded up 7.3% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $415.94 and last traded at $416.2050. 257,087 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 388,300 shares. The stock had previously closed at $387.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AGX. Piper Sandler began coverage on Argan in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $476.67.

Argan Stock Up 6.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $463.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $576.00.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. The firm had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%.The business’s revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,468,228.12. The trade was a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Argan by 2,950.0% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Argan

Argan, Inc (NYSE: AGX) is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement and construction services primarily to the power-generation and renewable-energy industries. Through its subsidiaries, the company supports the development and construction of energy infrastructure, including natural gas-fired power plants, renewable-energy facilities and related industrial projects.

Argan’s principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides project development, design, engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning and operations support services.