Argan (AGX) Competitors

Fluor (NYSE:FLR) and Argan (NYSE:AGX) are both mid-cap construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, media sentiment, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Which has better earnings & valuation, FLR or AGX?

Fluor has higher revenue and earnings than Argan. Fluor is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Argan, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fluor	$16.56B	0.52	$2.15B	$10.43	5.01
Argan	$874.18M	3.31	$85.46M	$7.13	29.79

Does the media refer more to FLR or AGX?

In the previous week, Fluor had 11 more articles in the media than Argan. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Fluor and 5 mentions for Argan. Argan's average media sentiment score of 1.36 beat Fluor's score of 0.82 indicating that Argan is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fluor	9 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Argan	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is FLR or AGX more profitable?

Fluor has a net margin of 11.13% compared to Argan's net margin of 11.00%. Argan's return on equity of 29.61% beat Fluor's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fluor	11.13%	14.59%	5.67%
Argan	11.00%	29.61%	12.82%

Do analysts rate FLR or AGX?

Fluor presently has a consensus target price of $50.86, indicating a potential downside of 2.68%. Argan has a consensus target price of $193.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.13%. Given Fluor's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Fluor is more favorable than Argan.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fluor	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Argan	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in FLR or AGX?

88.1% of Fluor shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Argan shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Fluor shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Argan shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is FLR or AGX a better dividend stock?

Fluor pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Argan pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Fluor pays out 3.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Argan pays out 21.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Argan has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Fluor is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more volatility & risk, FLR or AGX?

Fluor has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Argan has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Fluor beats Argan on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.