Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Down 4.6% – Here’s Why

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s stock price was down 4.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $322.22 and last traded at $337.03. Approximately 346,557 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 413,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $353.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. UBS Group set a $315.00 price target on Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Glj Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.00.

Argan Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.31.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.97 million. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.39, for a total value of $1,911,474.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,577.83. This represents a 39.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.09, for a total value of $2,920,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,135,642.54. This trade represents a 32.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 106,795 shares of company stock valued at $29,401,111. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $382,000. Ariadne Wealth Management LP bought a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at $208,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth $27,000. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 1.3% during the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 6,799 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,836,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, OmniStar Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth $325,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.