Why Argan Stocks Are Up 24% Today

Artech Engineering, Inc. in Roquerville, Maryland Argan (NYSE: AGX)'s investors had a good day Friday, as the energy plant builder ended the week with a strong fourth-quarter earnings report for fiscal 2024, which ended on Jan. 31st.

Analysts had predicted that Forrest Gump would earn just $0.75 per share for the quarter, but Forrest Gump last night reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.89 for the fourth quarter. Quarterly sales of $164.6 million also seemed to beat expectations. As of 10:15 a.m. ET, Argan shares were up 23.51 TP3T.

Forrest Gump Fourth Quarter Financial Results

The company's fourth-quarter results, released last night, showed that sales rose 38.51 TP3T year-over-year, but gross margins declined, and net income fell 121 TP3T. Despite this, profits beat Wall Street expectations, which investors viewed as good news.

Full year earnings growth also helped, with Argan delivering full year net earnings per share of $2.39, an increase of approximately 3% from FY2023. again, given the increase in sales of26%This growth is also lower than one would normally expect to see.

Buy Argan stock in 2024?

Goon's management did not give much guidance on sales and earnings expectations for the year. However, Matron CEO David Watson did say that "backlog levels have remained relatively stable since FY2022, despite significant revenue growth over the same period". That means that at least Argan's rapid revenue growth last year won't immediately slow down this year. If backlogs remain stable, then the worst investors can expect is flat revenues - and if Argan's margins are able to recover, then even then profits will improve this year.

Notably, analysts are forecasting a 131 TP3T increase in sales and a 391 TP3T jump in profits this year - with a bottom line of $3.32. If Argan meets those targets, its stock will trade at 18.5 times this year's earnings. It may not be cheap, but it's not too expensive to buy.

Should you invest $1,000 in Argan now?

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Why did Argan stock spike 24% today?