Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Price Down 9.5% – Here’s Why

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) shares fell 9.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $417.82 and last traded at $419.48. 163,070 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 383,444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $463.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. CJS Securities raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.20.

Argan Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $373.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.58. The company has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.61 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The firm had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.56%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.04, for a total value of $328,040.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total value of $2,068,917.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,461,682.37. This trade represents a 45.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,915 shares of company stock worth $20,182,794. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Argan by 12.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,854 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 118.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,665,000 after buying an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 37.3% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Argan during the second quarter worth about $418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.