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

Shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $149.23, but opened at $144.70. Argan shares last traded at $136.14, with a volume of 146,884 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 42.97 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $117.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.10.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $0.375 dividend. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $481,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,670,631.48. This represents a 22.39 % 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, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total value of $1,314,660.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 219,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,606,257.90. This represents a 4.39 % 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Argan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Argan during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

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.