Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading 6.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) rose 6.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $585.75 and last traded at $585.2210. Approximately 26,740 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 398,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $551.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their target price on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

Argan Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.88 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $679.76 and a 200-day moving average of $541.39.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.57%.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,550.70. The trade was a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at $3,411,120. This represents a 29.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,809 shares of company stock worth $100,841,655. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $478,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,748,000. Thames Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 51,794 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,228,000 after buying an additional 10,411 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,574,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Argan during the first quarter worth $1,728,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.