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

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $149.23, but opened at $144.70. Argan shares last traded at $136.14, with a volume of 146,884 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Stock Down 12.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.36 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.16.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.34. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The business had revenue of $227.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.05 million. Argan’s revenue for the quarter was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 47.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $481,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,670,631.48. This trade represents a 22.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total value of $602,383.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 236,745 shares in the company, valued at $31,015,962.45. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,703 shares of company stock worth $4,257,794 over the last 90 days. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Argan by 1.8% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,796 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management grew its position in Argan by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 29,062 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Argan by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 10,862 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 68.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.