Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $605.00 and last traded at $603.8380, with a volume of 1898 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $576.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AGX shares. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.40.

Argan Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $445.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $364.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.95 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total transaction of $2,459,556.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,894.60. This trade represents a 55.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,134,246.90. The trade was a 42.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,852 shares of company stock valued at $22,360,053. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Argan by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Argan by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC boosted its position in shares of Argan by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 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.