Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $793.17 and last traded at $789.45, with a volume of 219165 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $765.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AGX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. 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 report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Argan Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $674.70 and its 200 day moving average is $504.76. The company has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 69.70 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Argan announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,847,215.20. This trade represents a 26.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total value of $32,173,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,539,416.96. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 186,800 shares of company stock valued at $123,296,561 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter worth $478,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $2,748,000. Alpine Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $16,203,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $5,574,000. Finally, Thames Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Argan by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 51,794 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,228,000 after purchasing an additional 10,411 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.