Argan (NYSE:AGX) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $785.21 and last traded at $782.9550, with a volume of 197324 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $738.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Argan Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of 69.40 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $659.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $490.19.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Argan’s payout ratio is 17.57%.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.65, for a total transaction of $3,350,497.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,875,512. This trade represents a 40.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total value of $32,173,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 90,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,539,416.96. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 136,800 shares of company stock worth $86,312,461. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Argan during the third quarter worth $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 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.