Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Price Down 6.6% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) fell 6.6% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $568.34 and last traded at $569.0840. 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

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

Argan Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $679.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $539.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.20 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.57%.

Argan declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total transaction of $32,173,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,539,416.96. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total value of $6,507,641.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,052,056.10. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 151,309 shares of company stock valued at $102,366,655 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Argan by 12.2% in the 1st 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 holdings in Argan by 118.3% in the first 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 period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 13.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Argan by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $286,000. 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.