Zacks Research Downgrades Argan (NYSE:AGX) to Hold

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

AGX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.40.

Argan Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $674.41 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $606.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $452.72. Argan has a 12-month low of $193.82 and a 12-month high of $748.50. The firm has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a PE ratio of 69.24 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total value of $1,885,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,302,380.92. This represents a 30.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,847,215.20. The trade was a 26.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 2.0% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its stake in shares of Argan by 0.6% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,030 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.