Argan (NYSE:AGX) Upgraded to “Buy” at Lake Street Capital

Argan (NYSE:AGX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Lake Street Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $150.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock. Lake Street Capital’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.06% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, CJS Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Argan in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Argan Stock Performance

AGX stock opened at $138.81 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $136.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04 and a beta of 0.58. Argan has a fifty-two week low of $48.85 and a fifty-two week high of $191.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.07. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $232.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.50 million. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 41.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.24, for a total value of $124,192.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,977,037.48. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,050. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,185 shares of company stock worth $1,644,859 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in Argan by 419.4% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.