Argan (NYSE:AGX) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Lake Street Capital

Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan (NYSE:AGX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $150.00 price target on the construction company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $85.00.

Separately, StockNews.com cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Trading Down 4.0 %

NYSE:AGX opened at $149.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.14 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.36 and its 200-day moving average is $95.90. Argan has a 1-year low of $39.74 and a 1-year high of $165.33.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.34. Argan had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 6.11%. The business had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.05 million. The firm’s revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Argan’s payout ratio is 47.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total transaction of $896,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,444.96. This represents a 12.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $481,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,631.48. The trade was a 22.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Argan by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,406 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,273,000 after buying an additional 7,564 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Argan by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 287,246 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,141,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Argan by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,341 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,728,000 after buying an additional 21,094 shares during the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP raised its position in Argan by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 45,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,564,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at $631,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.