Argan (NYSE:AGX) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

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Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $252.99 and last traded at $249.50, with a volume of 183659 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Argan in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets lowered Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $202.00.

Argan Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $216.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.05.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Argan's payout ratio is presently 21.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director James W. Quinn sold 40,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.92, for a total transaction of $8,316,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,442,531.44. The trade was a 70.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 13,728 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.58, for a total value of $3,041,850.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 196,723 shares in the company, valued at $43,589,882.34. The trade was a 6.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 2,987.5% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 419.4% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter worth about $109,000. 79.43% of the stock is 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.