Argan (NYSE:AGX) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a "neutral" to an "overweight" rating, raising their price target from $220.00 to $315.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.91% from the stock's previous close.
• In the latest quarterly earnings, Argan reported $2.50 earnings per share, exceeding estimates by $0.51, and revenue increased by 4.7% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity has seen significant sales, with directors selling over 91,000 shares of Argan stock in the last ninety days, representing a substantial decrease in their positions.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $315.00 price objective on the construction company's stock, up from their prior price objective of $220.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.91% from the company's previous close.

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

Argan Stock Performance

AGX stock opened at $256.28 on Monday. Argan has a one year low of $101.02 and a one year high of $283.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $241.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.47. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on 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 owned 49,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,340,278.40. The trade was a 21.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of Argan 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 sale, the director directly owned 38,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,668,864.82. This trade represents a 23.31% 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company's stock worth $121,485,000 after acquiring an additional 82,585 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Argan by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 517,302 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $67,855,000 after buying an additional 36,644 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Argan by 14,436.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 329,393 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $72,624,000 after buying an additional 327,127 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Argan by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 324,356 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $71,514,000 after buying an additional 5,575 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 314,453 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $69,339,000 after buying an additional 11,788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

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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