JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Argan (NYSE:AGX) Price Target to $785.00

Argan (NYSE:AGX) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $800.00 to $785.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the construction company’s stock.

AGX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 price objective for the company. Lake Street Capital upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Zacks Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Freedom Broker raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $476.67.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $380.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $470.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $577.16. Argan has a 1 year low of $255.60 and a 1 year high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. The business had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The business’s revenue was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Argan will post 13.37 EPS for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,468,228.12. This represents a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in Argan by 2,950.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Argan during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. 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 engineering, procurement and construction services primarily to the power-generation and renewable-energy industries. Through its subsidiaries, the company supports the development and construction of energy infrastructure, including natural gas-fired power plants, renewable-energy facilities and related industrial projects.

Argan’s principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides project development, design, engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning and operations support services.