Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Up 6.2% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) traded up 6.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $386.40 and last traded at $377.3120. Approximately 40,409 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 388,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $355.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $476.67.

Argan Stock Up 5.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $484.04 and a 200 day moving average of $578.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The firm had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 13.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,468,228.12. This represents a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Argan by 2,950.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Argan during the second quarter worth $38,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Argan

Argan, Inc is an engineering, procurement and construction company that provides services to the power generation and energy infrastructure industries. The company supports the development, construction, commissioning and maintenance of power facilities, including natural gas-fired power plants, renewable energy projects and energy storage installations.

Argan primarily operates through subsidiaries including Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, project management and construction services for power generation projects; The Roberts Company, which performs industrial fabrication, equipment installation and field services; and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering and construction services for power and industrial facilities.