Argan (NYSE:AGX) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• New 52-week high: Argan (NYSE:AGX) traded intraday as high as $618.87 and last traded near $598.41 on volume of 257,520 shares, giving the company a market cap of about $8.35 billion.
• Earnings beat: Argan reported Q results with EPS of $3.47 vs. $1.99 expected and revenue of $262.05M vs. $255.32M, with revenue up 12.7% year‑over‑year, a 14.59% net margin and 33.62% ROE.
• Capital returns and insider activity: The board authorized a $200M share buyback (up to ~2.5% of shares) and declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend ($2.00 annual), while insiders sold ~44,881 shares (~$18.25M) in the last three months.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $618.87 and last traded at $598.4080, with a volume of 257520 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $603.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Argan Price Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $465.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $373.80. The firm has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a PE ratio of 61.44 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.53%.

Argan declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total value of $7,347,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,134,246.90. This trade represents a 42.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.78, for a total transaction of $1,803,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,955,509.76. This represents a 37.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 44,881 shares of company stock worth $18,252,305. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 12.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 118.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 13.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 37.3% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth $286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

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.

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