Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Price Down 9.5% – What’s Next?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Glj Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. 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. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.20.

Argan Stock Down 4.0%

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $377.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $321.64. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.66 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 is presently 23.56%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.78, for a total value of $1,803,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,509.76. The trade was a 37.90% 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 55,915 shares of company stock worth $20,182,794 over the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Argan by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 827,482 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $259,267,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 599,149 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $187,725,000 after acquiring an additional 39,683 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $137,503,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Argan by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 435,761 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $117,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Argan by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 400,379 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $125,462,000 after purchasing an additional 80,415 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.