Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $156.15, but opened at $151.35. Argan shares last traded at $152.01, with a volume of 75,331 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Lake Street Capital downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday.

Argan Stock Down 4.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 49.06 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $131.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.31.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.05 million. Argan had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 6.11%. The company’s revenue was up 60.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 47.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director James W. Quinn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.68, for a total value of $896,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,422 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,444.96. This represents a 12.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 4,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.01, for a total transaction of $602,383.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 236,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,015,962.45. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth $70,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the third quarter worth about $91,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.