Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $115.23, but opened at $138.10. Argan shares last traded at $144.89, with a volume of 447,622 shares trading hands.

The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.07. The business had revenue of $232.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Lake Street Capital raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. CJS Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 7,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total value of $1,220,666.65. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,792 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,099.68. This represents a 38.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,050. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,185 shares of company stock worth $1,644,859. 11.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

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

Argan Trading Up 20.5 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04 and a beta of 0.58.

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.