Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $605.00 and last traded at $603.8380, with a volume of 1898 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $576.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their price target on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.40.

Argan Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a PE ratio of 60.95 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $445.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $364.32.

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

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total value of $2,459,556.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,894.60. This trade represents a 55.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total transaction of $4,187,332.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,934,371.85. This trade represents a 18.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,852 shares of company stock worth $22,360,053. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Argan by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.