Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $470.40.

Several brokerages have commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $417.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $572.83 and its 200-day moving average is $584.68. Argan has a 52 week low of $197.00 and a 52 week high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. The business had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%.Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Argan will post 13.44 EPS for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.82%.

Argan News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Argan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lake Street upgraded AGX to Buy from Hold and set a $600 price target, citing improved fundamentals and growth prospects. Based on the referenced price of $417.52, the target implies substantial potential upside. Lake Street upgrades Argan to Buy from Hold
• Positive Sentiment: Argan’s fiscal second-quarter results significantly exceeded expectations. Earnings per share came in at $3.76 versus the $2.64 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $383.98 million compared with expectations of $300.53 million. Revenue increased 61.5% year over year, and the company reported a 15.09% net margin and 38.51% return on equity. Why Argan Stock Just Popped
• Positive Sentiment: Power-segment growth and margin expansion strengthened the outlook. Analysts highlighted approximately 53% Power revenue growth, solid project margins and a backlog of roughly $2.5 billion. Demand tied to electrification, data centers and domestic manufacturing could support continued demand for Argan’s power-infrastructure construction services. Argan Stock Rises on Q2 Earnings and Revenue Beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Management pointed to a strong gas-project pipeline and plans to expand capacity, but cautioned that revenue growth may moderate in the near term as project timing and execution affect results. Argan Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total transaction of $32,173,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares in the company, valued at $58,539,416.96. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.65, for a total transaction of $3,350,497.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,875,512. This represents a 40.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828. Company insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Argan by 77,552.2% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,498,905 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,981,001,000 after purchasing an additional 12,482,809 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Argan in the second quarter worth approximately $1,764,086,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,503,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Argan by 32.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $431,010,000 after buying an additional 192,204 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $131,878,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.