Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Price Up 7.1% – Should You Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) shares rose 7.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $440.86 and last traded at $443.4820. Approximately 13,036 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 399,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $414.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.20.

Argan Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $351.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $305.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.73 and a beta of 0.63.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued 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. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The business had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total value of $7,347,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,134,246.90. This trade represents a 42.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 value 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,915 shares of company stock valued at $20,182,794. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new stake in Argan in the third quarter worth about $14,138,000. Thames Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth approximately $11,175,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 125.3% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,505 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,377,000 after buying an additional 6,955 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Argan in the third quarter worth $971,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,772,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.