Wall Street Zen Upgrades Argan (NYSE:AGX) to “Buy”

Argan (NYSE:AGX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on AGX. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Argan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Argan Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of AGX stock opened at $417.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.57. Argan has a 52 week low of $197.00 and a 52 week high of $805.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $572.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $584.68.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The business’s revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Argan will post 13.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,596 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $666.31, for a total value of $1,729,740.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,421,078.64. This trade represents a 10.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828. Insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 77,552.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,498,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,981,001,000 after purchasing an additional 12,482,809 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,764,086,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $137,503,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Argan by 32.1% during the 1st 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 stake in Argan in the second quarter worth $131,878,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

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.