Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $355.20.

Several research firms have weighed in on AGX. Glj Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Argan in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total transaction of $4,187,332.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,939 shares in the company, valued at $18,934,371.85. This trade represents a 18.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.78, for a total transaction of $1,803,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 55,915 shares of company stock valued at $20,182,794 over the last quarter. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Argan during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $441.23 on Thursday. Argan has a 52-week low of $101.02 and a 52-week high of $449.90. The stock has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.97 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $355.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $309.47.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The business had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. 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%.

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.