Argan (NYSE:AGX) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on AGX. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.40.

Argan Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:AGX opened at $674.41 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $606.68 and a 200-day moving average of $452.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.24 and a beta of 0.61. Argan has a twelve month low of $193.82 and a twelve month high of $748.50.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The business had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Argan’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Argan will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 20.53%.

Argan declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,847,215.20. The trade was a 26.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $598.49, for a total transaction of $5,053,649.56. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,495 shares in the company, valued at $24,834,342.55. This represents a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Argan by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its holdings in Argan by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,030 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,734,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.