Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX – Get Free Report) shares dropped 6.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $518.12 and last traded at $516.2230. Approximately 82,815 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 384,056 shares. The stock had previously closed at $553.03.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Argan from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on AGX
Argan Stock Performance
Argan (NYSE:AGX – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Argan Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.57%.
Insider Activity at Argan
In related news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total value of $32,173,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,539,416.96. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,228.12. This represents a 69.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828. Corporate insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Argan by 2,950.0% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.
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