Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading Down 5.9% – Here’s Why

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) dropped 5.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $317.26 and last traded at $319.66. Approximately 15,562 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 143,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $339.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Lake Street Capital downgraded 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 note on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Glj Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $355.20.

Argan Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.99 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $335.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.24.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The company had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 23.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 200 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.47, for a total transaction of $67,494.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,723. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.04, for a total value of $328,040.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 29,693 shares of company stock worth $8,905,608 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 229.3% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after buying an additional 4,028 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,772,000. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC lifted its position in Argan by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 8,084 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 3,638 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $418,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Argan

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.