Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Price Down 6.6% – Here’s Why

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s share price was down 6.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $568.34 and last traded at $569.0840. Approximately 27,208 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 395,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $609.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their price target on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

Argan Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.37 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $685.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $538.22.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. Argan’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Argan’s payout ratio is 17.57%.

Argan announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total transaction of $15,208,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 40,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,159,379.68. This represents a 32.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total value of $1,398,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at $3,411,120. This trade represents a 29.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 170,619 shares of company stock valued at $113,993,399. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGX. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $478,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $2,748,000. Thames Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 51,794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,228,000 after purchasing an additional 10,411 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,574,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the first quarter worth approximately $1,728,000. 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.