Argan (NYSE:AGX) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.12 EPS

Argan (NYSE:AGX) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12, FiscalAI reports. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.53 million.

Argan Trading Up 1.5%

Argan stock traded up $6.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $410.83. 509,958 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 383,450. Argan has a 12 month low of $197.00 and a 12 month high of $805.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $592.85 and a 200 day moving average of $584.67. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10 and a beta of 0.58.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is 17.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.65, for a total value of $3,350,497.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,875,512. The trade was a 40.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total transaction of $32,173,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,539,416.96. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $137,503,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Argan by 168.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,862,000 after buying an additional 159,149 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 172.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,687,000 after buying an additional 145,516 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,647,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 320.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 153,115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,349,000 after acquiring an additional 116,657 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

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.