Argan (NYSE:AGX) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Argan (NYSE:AGX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. CJS Securities raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Argan Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of AGX stock opened at $570.92 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $429.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $354.37. Argan has a 52 week low of $111.16 and a 52 week high of $588.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 58.62 and a beta of 0.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The company had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total value of $2,068,917.45. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,461,682.37. This trade represents a 45.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.78, for a total value of $1,803,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,509.76. This trade represents a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,715 shares of company stock worth $19,787,260. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 827,482 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $259,267,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Argan by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 599,149 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $187,725,000 after buying an additional 39,683 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $137,503,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Argan by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 435,761 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $117,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 400,379 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $125,462,000 after acquiring an additional 80,415 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.