Argan (NYSE:AGX) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Argan (NYSE:AGX) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

AGX has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Lake Street Capital cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Argan in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.20.

Argan Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of AGX stock opened at $321.12 on Thursday. Argan has a twelve month low of $101.02 and a twelve month high of $399.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $320.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $259.35. The stock has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.82 and a beta of 0.60.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. Argan’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.73, for a total transaction of $3,242,363.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,834 shares in the company, valued at $10,668,864.82. This trade represents a 23.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.96, for a total value of $4,079,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,467,758.88. This represents a 47.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 107,795 shares of company stock worth $29,729,151 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Argan by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $121,485,000 after buying an additional 82,585 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Argan by 69.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 559,466 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $151,084,000 after acquiring an additional 230,073 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Argan by 7.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 517,302 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $67,855,000 after acquiring an additional 36,644 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Argan by 0.9% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 435,761 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $117,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Argan by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 324,356 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,514,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.