Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $476.67

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Argan, with an average 12-month price target of $476.67 versus the stock’s recent opening price of $380.16. Ratings include four buys, two strong buys, three holds and one sell.
• Argan reported quarterly EPS of $3.76, exceeding the $2.64 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 61.5% year over year to $383.98 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.70 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $2.80 and a 0.7% yield; institutional investors own 79.43% of the stock.

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $476.67.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Freedom Broker upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Argan in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $273.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Argan from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total transaction of $3,313,222.24. Following the sale, the director owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,228.12. The trade was a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Argan by 2.0% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Argan by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company's stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its position in Argan by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,030 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,734,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock opened at $380.16 on Friday. Argan has a 12 month low of $255.60 and a 12 month high of $805.75. The firm has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $470.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $577.16.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. The firm had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Argan will post 13.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is 15.82%.

About Argan

Argan, Inc NYSE: AGX is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement and construction services primarily to the power-generation and renewable-energy industries. Through its subsidiaries, the company supports the development and construction of energy infrastructure, including natural gas-fired power plants, renewable-energy facilities and related industrial projects.

Argan's principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides project development, design, engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning and operations support services.

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