Argan (NYSE:AGX) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Argan's stock rating has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from "buy" to "hold", following a similar downgrade by Kepler Capital Markets.
• Despite this, Argan's stock price has increased by 2.0% and currently trades at $239.77, with a 52-week range of $68.53 to $253.79.
• The company reported a significant year-over-year revenue increase of 22.8% in its latest earnings, with earnings per share exceeding analyst estimates by $0.51.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AGX. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of Argan stock traded down $14.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $224.92. The company had a trading volume of 157,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 437,672. Argan has a one year low of $69.81 and a one year high of $253.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.55 and a beta of 0.59.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%. The company had revenue of $193.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,225,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,553,970. This trade represents a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 13,728 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.58, for a total value of $3,041,850.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 196,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,589,882.34. The trade was a 6.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth $286,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 39.5% in the second quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 46,459 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $10,243,000 after buying an additional 13,148 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 4,084 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 42,758 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,427,000 after acquiring an additional 14,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth $210,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.