Argan (NYSE:AGX) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Argan (NYSE:AGX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Lake Street Capital upped their target price on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.40.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $674.41 on Tuesday. Argan has a one year low of $193.82 and a one year high of $748.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.24 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $606.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $452.72.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The firm had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Argan will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $598.49, for a total transaction of $5,053,649.56. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,834,342.55. This represents a 16.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 19,310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.11, for a total value of $11,626,744.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,104,295.78. The trade was a 27.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.