Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Price Down 7.5% – Should You Sell?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) dropped 7.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $525.81 and last traded at $526.3010. Approximately 72,659 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 395,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $568.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Argan Stock Down 3.6%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $663.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $553.89. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 45.97 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Argan announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding 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 often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total value of $6,507,641.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,052,056.10. This trade represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,084,550.70. The trade was a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 122,257 shares of company stock worth $84,241,605 in the last three months. 2.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 2.0% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its position in Argan by 0.6% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,030 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 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.