Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading Down 14% – Should You Sell?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) was down 14% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $276.28 and last traded at $306.5220. Approximately 269,861 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 412,463 shares. The stock had previously closed at $356.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AGX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Glj Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group set a $315.00 price target on Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $321.00.

Argan Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $314.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27 and a beta of 0.60.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The company had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.50 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.37, for a total value of $3,093,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,498,626.22. This trade represents a 32.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 9,897 shares in the company, valued at $2,913,577.83. This trade represents a 39.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 106,795 shares of company stock worth $29,401,111 in the last quarter. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.