Argan (NYSE:AGX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.12 EPS

Argan (NYSE:AGX) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12, FiscalAI reports. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The business had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX traded up $6.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $410.83. The stock had a trading volume of 509,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,450. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $592.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $584.67. Argan has a 52 week low of $197.00 and a 52 week high of $805.75.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total value of $32,173,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares in the company, valued at $58,539,416.96. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was 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 directly owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,228.12. The trade was a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Argan by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 328 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 6,799 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,836,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Argan by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,415 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.