Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading Down 4.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) traded down 4.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $154.08 and last traded at $154.08. 102,121 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 172,690 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Argan Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $126.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.82. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.57 and a beta of 0.49.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.05 million. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. Argan’s quarterly revenue 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total value of $896,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,422 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,444.96. The trade was a 12.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total transaction of $602,383.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 236,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,015,962.45. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794 in the last 90 days. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGX. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Argan by 81.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 911,056 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,408,000 after purchasing an additional 409,948 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 305,298 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,336,000 after buying an additional 73,658 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,245,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Argan by 72.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 114,224 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,586,000 after buying an additional 47,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,783,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Company Profile

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.