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

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)’s stock price fell 7.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $525.81 and last traded at $526.3010. Approximately 72,659 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 395,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $568.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

Argan Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $668.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $551.09. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.95 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 17.57%.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $617.41, for a total value of $3,087,050.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 36,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,532,377.95. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $666.31, for a total transaction of $1,729,740.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,144 shares in the company, valued at $15,421,078.64. The trade was a 10.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 131,407 shares of company stock valued at $89,930,342 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors 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.