Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Down 9.5% – Here’s What Happened

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s stock price was down 9.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $417.82 and last traded at $419.48. Approximately 163,070 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 383,444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $463.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AGX. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Argan in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 target price for the company. Glj Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $355.20.

Argan Trading Down 9.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $373.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $319.58.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. Argan’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.56%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.04, for a total value of $328,040.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total transaction of $7,347,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,134,246.90. The trade was a 42.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,915 shares of company stock valued at $20,182,794. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,138,000. Thames Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,175,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Argan by 125.3% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,377,000 after acquiring an additional 6,955 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Argan in the third quarter worth about $971,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,772,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc (NYSE: AGX) is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company’s principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.