Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 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 changing hands.

The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 8.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,405,050. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.24, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,977,037.48. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,185 shares of company stock worth $1,644,859. 11.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Argan by 81.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 911,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $92,408,000 after buying an additional 409,948 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $23,064,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 672,579 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,170,000 after purchasing an additional 116,783 shares during the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC raised its position in Argan by 286.8% in the 4th quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 117,384 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,086,000 after purchasing an additional 87,038 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Argan by 80.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 186,437 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,549,000 after purchasing an additional 83,039 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.00 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.13.

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.