Argan (NYSE:AGX) Trading Down 4.8% - What's Next?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) fell 4.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $201.72 and last traded at $203.02. 267,886 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 355,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $213.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $202.00.

Argan Stock Up 0.3%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $207.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.33. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.04%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total value of $1,688,316.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. This represents a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.92, for a total value of $8,316,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,442,531.44. This represents a 70.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 85,404 shares of company stock valued at $18,221,387 over the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 2,987.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Argan by 1,123.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $170,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.