Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Stock Has Average Target Price of $476.67

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $476.67.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Argan in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,468,228.12. This trade represents a 69.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. IKE Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,481,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 516 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 166.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,921 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,311,000 after purchasing an additional 11,205 shares during the period. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the second quarter valued at about $5,484,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the second quarter valued at about $1,175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $384.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $466.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $576.58. Argan has a 52 week low of $255.60 and a 52 week high of $805.75. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.56.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. The business had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.53 million. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%.Argan’s revenue was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Argan will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This is a positive change 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%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.82%.

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.