Argan (NYSE:AGX) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $271.41 and last traded at $266.6490, with a volume of 17,122 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $290.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.00.

Argan Stock Up 6.7%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $372.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $515.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.64.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The business had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 704.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 18,517 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,787,000 after purchasing an additional 16,214 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,764,086,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the second quarter worth about $6,156,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,292,000. Finally, BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth $5,484,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance services for the power generation and renewable energy industries. Its work supports the development, construction and improvement of utility-scale energy infrastructure.

Through its subsidiaries, Argan offers engineering and construction management, project development support, procurement, installation, startup and commissioning services. Its projects have included natural gas-fired power plants, solar and other renewable energy facilities, and related industrial and electrical infrastructure.

Argan’s principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services for power generation and renewable energy projects, and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering, project management and construction-related services.