Argan (NYSE:AGX) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Argan hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $693.05 on Friday and currently well above its average analyst target of about $425.40.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: Argan reported $3.47 EPS vs. $1.99 expected and revenue of $262.05M (+12.7% YoY), and the board approved a $200M buyback while paying a $0.50 quarterly dividend.
• Analyst sentiment and insider activity diverge: several upgrades (Goldman Sachs, Zacks, JPMorgan) leave an average rating of "Moderate Buy," even as insiders sold roughly $39M of stock in the past 90 days and institutions own about 79% of shares.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $693.05 and last traded at $693.3440, with a volume of 100605 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $669.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AGX shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $425.40.

Argan Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $527.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $404.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.18 and a beta of 0.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The firm had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.32 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.53%.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.88, for a total value of $495,904.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $309,940. This trade represents a 61.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $630.58, for a total value of $220,703.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $220,703. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 over the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc NYSE: AGX is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company's principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.