Wall Street Zen Upgrades Argan (NYSE:AGX) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan to “buy” from “hold.” Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $509, although recommendations range from $273 to $785.
• Argan shares opened at $345.45, down 5.9%, and remain well below their 52-week high of $805.75. The company reported quarterly EPS of $3.76 and revenue of $383.98 million, exceeding estimates, while revenue increased 61.5% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 79.43% of Argan. BlackRock established a new stake, while First Trust Advisors, Renaissance Technologies, Maverick Capital and Dimensional Fund Advisors increased their positions; a company director separately sold 5,716 shares.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on AGX. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $273.00 price objective on the stock. Lake Street Capital upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Argan from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $509.00.

Argan Stock Down 5.9%

Shares of AGX opened at $345.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $429.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $570.06. Argan has a 52-week low of $257.62 and a 52-week high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. The company 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%. Argan's revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Argan will post 13.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 2,533 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Argan during the second quarter valued at about $1,764,086,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Argan by 32.1% in the 1st 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 610,899 shares of the construction company's stock worth $332,726,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in Argan by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 464,759 shares of the construction company's stock worth $253,131,000 after purchasing an additional 25,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Argan by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 397,962 shares of the construction company's stock worth $216,728,000 after purchasing an additional 4,954 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently 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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