Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Receives $470.40 Average PT from Analysts

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $470.40.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $796.37 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $682.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $511.28. Argan has a one year low of $196.90 and a one year high of $805.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.98 and a beta of 0.58.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Argan will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.57%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.65, for a total transaction of $3,350,497.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,875,512. This represents a 40.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $598.49, for a total transaction of $5,053,649.56. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,495 shares in the company, valued at $24,834,342.55. The trade was a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 182,244 shares of company stock valued at $120,837,004 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 2.0% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Argan by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its position in shares of Argan by 0.6% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,030 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Argan by 26.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Argan

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.