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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Glj Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Argan in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 target price for the company. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their target price on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.00.

Argan Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $291.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.62.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 4,441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.01, for a total transaction of $1,230,201.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,210,883.91. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.39, for a total transaction of $1,911,474.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,897 shares in the company, valued at $2,913,577.83. The trade was a 39.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 106,795 shares of company stock worth $29,401,111 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.