Argan (NYSE:AGX) Upgraded by Lake Street Capital to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Lake Street Capital upgraded Argan to “Buy” from “Hold” and set a $600 price target, implying 46.05% upside from the previous close. The stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average target of $470.40.
• Argan reported quarterly EPS of $3.76, beating estimates of $2.64, while revenue reached $383.98 million and rose 61.5% year over year.
• Despite strong institutional ownership, insiders sold 127,973 shares worth approximately $87.6 million during the last quarter, including significant sales by the CFO and chairman.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Lake Street Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $600.00 target price on the construction company's stock. Lake Street Capital's price target indicates a potential upside of 46.05% from the company's previous close.

AGX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Argan from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research cut Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Argan Trading Up 1.5%

AGX opened at $410.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10 and a beta of 0.57. Argan has a 12 month low of $197.00 and a 12 month high of $805.75. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $586.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $584.62.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. The firm had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $300.53 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The company's revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Argan will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. This represents a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total value of $15,208,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at $31,159,379.68. The trade was a 32.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828 in the last quarter. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,764,086,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $478,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Argan during the second quarter worth approximately $6,156,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Argan during the first quarter worth approximately $1,728,000. Finally, Thames Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Argan by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 51,794 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,228,000 after buying an additional 10,411 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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