Argan (NYSE:AGX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Argan (NYSE:AGX) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. CJS Securities raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.40.

Argan Stock Up 4.8%

AGX opened at $570.92 on Tuesday. Argan has a 52 week low of $111.16 and a 52 week high of $588.00. The stock has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 58.62 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $429.05 and a 200-day moving average of $354.37.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. The company had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.78, for a total value of $1,803,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,955,509.76. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total transaction of $2,068,917.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,461,682.37. This represents a 45.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,715 shares of company stock worth $19,787,260. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Argan by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 1.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 1.3% during the third quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $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.