Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Price Down 8.8% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) shares dropped 8.8% after several insiders, including the Director and CFO, sold portions of their stock, significantly decreasing their holdings.
• Analysts' ratings have shifted, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiating coverage with a "neutral" rating and a price target of $220, while Kepler Capital Markets downgraded the stock from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• Argan's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $1.60 EPS against a consensus estimate of $1.09, but the stock's recent performance highlights increasing investor concern following insider sales.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) dropped 8.8% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $215.69 and last traded at $223.48. Approximately 216,883 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 439,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.98.

Specifically, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total value of $617,586.23. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,180,520.02. This trade represents a 22.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,604 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.77, for a total value of $389,403.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,894,091.54. This represents a 17.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $469,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,371,751.68. This trade represents a 5.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $202.00.

Argan Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $215.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22 and a beta of 0.54.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. Argan had a return on equity of 29.61% and a net margin of 11.00%. The firm had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is presently 21.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argan

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Argan by 138.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,142 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,582,000 after buying an additional 15,167 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 843,583 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $115,605,000 after buying an additional 16,784 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 38,084 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,219,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Argan by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 295,349 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,475,000 after buying an additional 80,844 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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