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

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AGX. CJS Securities restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a report on Friday, December 6th. Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,405,050. This represents a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 7,385 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total transaction of $1,220,666.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,949,099.68. The trade was a 38.51 % 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 90 days. 11.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

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

Argan Trading Up 1.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96 and a beta of 0.58. The business's fifty day moving average price is $135.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.38.

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.