Argan (NYSE:AGX) Stock Falls 10.2% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Argan shares fell 10.2% to about $312.83, with trading volume down 92% from its average.
• Analyst views are mixed, but the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $509.
• Argan beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 61.5% year over year; it also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.70 per share.

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) fell 10.2% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $313.77 and last traded at $312.8280. Approximately 29,810 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 378,763 shares. The stock had previously closed at $348.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $273.00 price target for the company. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Argan from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $509.00.

Argan Stock Down 18.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $383.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $517.27.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.12. The business had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 13.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 22nd. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.15%.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGX. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its position in shares of Argan by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,030 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of Argan by 1.2% in the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 4,333 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

About Argan

Argan, Inc is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance services for the power generation and renewable energy industries. Its work supports the development, construction and improvement of utility-scale energy infrastructure.

Through its subsidiaries, Argan offers engineering and construction management, project development support, procurement, installation, startup and commissioning services. Its projects have included natural gas-fired power plants, solar and other renewable energy facilities, and related industrial and electrical infrastructure.

Argan's principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services for power generation and renewable energy projects, and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering, project management and construction-related services.

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