Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading Down 11.9% – Should You Sell?
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyShares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX – Get Free Report) fell 11.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $652.71 and last traded at $638.6690. 84,854 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 402,976 shares. The stock had previously closed at $725.23.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.
Read Our Latest Report on Argan
Argan Trading Up 0.9%
The firm’s fifty day moving average is $689.92 and its 200-day moving average is $527.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a PE ratio of 58.79 and a beta of 0.57.
Argan (NYSE:AGX – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. Argan’s revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.
Argan Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.57%.
Argan declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Transactions at Argan
In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 1,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.35, for a total value of $1,329,818.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,297,536.75. The trade was a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total value of $15,208,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at $31,159,379.68. This trade represents a 32.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 179,663 shares of company stock worth $119,410,408 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Argan in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.