Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Receives $355.20 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $355.20.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 target price on the stock. Lake Street Capital cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th.

Argan Stock Performance

AGX opened at $438.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 51.65 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $353.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.46. Argan has a 52-week low of $101.02 and a 52-week high of $449.90.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.50 million. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.56%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total transaction of $7,347,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,134,246.90. The trade was a 42.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total transaction of $2,068,917.45. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,461,682.37. This represents a 45.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 55,915 shares of company stock worth $20,182,794 over the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argan Company Profile

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.