JPMorgan Chase & Co. Initiates Coverage on Argan (NYSE:AGX)

Research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target on the construction company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential downside of 0.75% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Argan Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of AGX traded up $5.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $221.67. 138,905 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 438,138. The company's fifty day moving average price is $209.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09 and a beta of 0.54. Argan has a 12 month low of $63.53 and a 12 month high of $246.60.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,242,711.08. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $3,041,850.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 196,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,589,882.34. This represents a 6.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 85,404 shares of company stock valued at $18,221,387. Insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 419.4% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Argan by 1,123.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the construction company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Argan in the 1st quarter worth about $109,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

About Argan

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.