Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Down 5.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) were down 5.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $116.17 and last traded at $119.20. Approximately 38,958 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 452,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CJS Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Argan Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $146.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.03.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.60 million. Argan had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The business’s revenue was up 56.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total transaction of $1,460,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,291 shares in the company, valued at $7,491,050.55. The trade was a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 7,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total value of $1,220,666.65. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,949,099.68. This represents a 38.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,185 shares of company stock valued at $3,105,359. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of Argan by 419.4% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.