Argan (NYSE:AGX) Given "Buy (B)" Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Argan's stock was given a "Buy (B)" rating by Weiss Ratings and is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by several analysts, with a consensus target price of $258.20.
• JPMorgan Chase upgraded Argan's rating from "neutral" to "overweight," increasing the target price from $220 to $315.
• Argan reported earnings per share of $2.50, exceeding analysts' expectations, while revenue for the quarter was slightly below consensus estimates at $237.74 million.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reiterated by Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on Argan in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Glj Research assumed coverage on Argan in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.20.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock traded up $21.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $297.29. The company had a trading volume of 186,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,520. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.22. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.64. Argan has a 52 week low of $101.02 and a 52 week high of $320.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.73, for a total transaction of $3,242,363.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,668,864.82. This represents a 23.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.96, for a total value of $4,079,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,467,758.88. The trade was a 47.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 119,520 shares of company stock worth $32,464,470. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AGX. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 2,987.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 1,116.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 322.2% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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