Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Argan from “buy” to “hold,” while broader analyst sentiment remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $476.67.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $3.76 versus the $2.64 consensus estimate and revenue of $383.98 million, up 61.5% year over year.
• AGX shares opened at $393.62, well below their 52-week high of $805.75; institutional investors own 79.43% of the stock, while a company director recently sold 5,716 shares.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Freedom Broker upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Argan from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $476.67.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of Argan stock opened at $393.62 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $452.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $573.31. Argan has a 1 year low of $255.60 and a 1 year high of $805.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.56.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. The firm had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Argan will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 2,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,468,228.12. The trade was a 69.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan in the second quarter worth $1,764,086,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Argan by 32.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company's stock worth $431,010,000 after purchasing an additional 192,204 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Argan during the second quarter worth about $131,878,000. SurgoCap Partners LP acquired a new stake in Argan during the second quarter worth about $119,769,000. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP acquired a new stake in Argan during the second quarter worth about $76,262,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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