Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Argan (NYSE:AGX) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Argan from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Argan Price Performance

AGX opened at $504.36 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $633.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $581.24. The firm has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.32 and a beta of 0.61. Argan has a 1 year low of $197.00 and a 1 year high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Argan will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $666.31, for a total transaction of $1,729,740.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,144 shares in the company, valued at $15,421,078.64. This represents a 10.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total value of $6,507,641.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,052,056.10. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828. 2.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Argan by 12.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after buying an additional 12,854 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 118.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted 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 valued at $4,665,000 after acquiring an additional 4,196 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Argan by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $286,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.