Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Up 6.2% – Here’s Why

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s stock price rose 6.2% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $585.75 and last traded at $585.2210. 26,740 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 398,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $551.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AGX shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Argan Trading Up 0.3%

The firm has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.06 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $676.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $545.45.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 17.57%.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 1,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.35, for a total transaction of $1,329,818.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at $28,297,536.75. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total value of $1,398,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,411,120. This represents a 29.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,105 shares of company stock worth $91,724,081. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,854 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 118.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 13.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 37.3% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $286,000. 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.