Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $423.79 and last traded at $421.5910, with a volume of 807738 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $371.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AGX shares. Zacks Research lowered Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Glj Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. CJS Securities raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.20.

Argan Stock Up 13.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 49.66 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $340.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.44.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $251.15 million during 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 revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s payout ratio is 23.56%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,461,682.37. This trade represents a 45.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total value of $7,347,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,207 shares in the company, valued at $10,134,246.90. The trade was a 42.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 55,915 shares of company stock worth $20,182,794 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Argan by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 27,200 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,522,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $155,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 11,650 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Argan by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,651 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,711,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.