Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading Down 5.8% – Here’s What Happened

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX – Get Free Report) dropped 5.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $299.12 and last traded at $301.6750. Approximately 133,231 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 415,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AGX. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Argan in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective for the company. Lake Street Capital cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.20.

Read Our Latest Analysis on AGX

Argan Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $322.92 and its 200 day moving average is $261.60.

Argan (NYSE:AGX – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.Argan’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan’s payout ratio is 23.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,493 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,913,577.83. This represents a 39.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.96, for a total value of $4,079,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,467,758.88. This represents a 47.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 105,186 shares of company stock worth $29,103,826 in the last quarter. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

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

Argan Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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