Argan (NYSE:AGX) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading 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 traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

Argan Price Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $116.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.59. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 0.49.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.34. Argan had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 6.11%. The firm had revenue of $227.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.05 million. Argan's quarterly revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Argan's payout ratio is 47.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total value of $962,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,852 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,962.40. This trade represents a 21.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rainer H. Bosselmann sold 10,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total value of $1,314,660.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 219,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,606,257.90. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794 in the last three months. 11.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGX. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Argan by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,426 shares of the construction company's stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 726,171 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $36,701,000 after buying an additional 12,162 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 131,987 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter worth $95,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,656 shares of the construction company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is 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.