Argan (NYSE:AGX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

AGX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.40.

Argan Stock Performance

Argan stock opened at $511.55 on Friday. Argan has a 52 week low of $111.16 and a 52 week high of $588.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.52 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $422.45 and a 200-day moving average of $350.66.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The business had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $255.32 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Argan’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 26,207 shares in the company, valued at $10,134,246.90. This trade represents a 42.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total transaction of $2,068,917.45. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,461,682.37. The trade was a 45.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,715 shares of company stock valued at $19,787,260. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 12.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Argan by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Argan by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Argan by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 16,184 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,568,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. 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.