Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) has received an average analyst recommendation of "Moderate Buy", with a 12-month price target set at $258.20.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.38 to $0.50, with a payout date of October 31st, indicating a dividend yield of 0.7%.
• Insider trading activity includes a significant sale of shares by CEO David Hibbert Watson, reducing his stake by 8.52% and demonstrating notable insider selling trends.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $258.20.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Glj Research started coverage on Argan in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 4,441 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.01, for a total value of $1,230,201.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 47,691 shares in the company, valued at $13,210,883.91. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.12, for a total value of $3,618,049.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,570 shares in the company, valued at $13,340,278.40. The trade was a 21.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,027 shares of company stock valued at $26,875,296. Insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in Argan by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,107 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 21.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,531 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 229.3% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,562,000 after buying an additional 4,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 8.4% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,592 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $296.32 on Friday. Argan has a 1 year low of $101.02 and a 1 year high of $320.00. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's 50-day moving average is $246.65 and its 200 day moving average is $210.05.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.97 million. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The business's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan's payout ratio is currently 18.03%.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.

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