Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading 13% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Argan (NYSE:AGX) shares surged 13% following an analyst upgrade from JPMorgan Chase, with a new price target of $315, up from $220.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.50 per share, reflecting an annualized rate of $2.00 and a dividend yield of 0.7%.
• Insider trades showed significant sales, with Director James W. Quinn and CEO David Hibbert Watson selling shares worth over $4.8 million combined in recent transactions.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) was up 13% during mid-day trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $315.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $220.00. Argan traded as high as $290.00 and last traded at $289.42. Approximately 143,083 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 420,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $256.15.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on AGX. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Glj Research began coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Argan currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.12, for a total transaction of $3,618,049.28. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,340,278.40. This represents a 21.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 4,441 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.01, for a total transaction of $1,230,201.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,210,883.91. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,027 shares of company stock worth $23,954,396 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 2,987.5% during 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. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Argan by 1,116.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Argan in the first quarter worth about $109,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $241.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.47.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The business had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Argan's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.03%.

Argan Company Profile

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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