AGX vs GVA vs STRL Stock Comparison

Argan, Granite Construction and Sterling Infrastructure Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AGX Argan Inc
$340.91 -6.6% 1M +15.6% 1Y
Market cap
$4.84B
P/E
27.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.19B
Div. yield
0.01%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
4 wins
GVA Granite Construction Inc
$110.49 -4.1% 1M +6.4% 1Y
Market cap
$4.86B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.97B
Div. yield
0.00%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Sterling Infrastructure leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Sterling Infrastructure 7, Argan 4, Granite Construction 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAGXGVASTRLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.84B $4.86B $11.53B STRL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.0x -29.5x 26.7x STRL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.3x — 19.6x STRL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +29.0% +21.8% +60.8% STRL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.1% -3.3% 12.5% AGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 13.4% 29.2% STRL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.3x -0.3x STRL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% AGX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +15.6% +6.4% -2.5% AGX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +52.1%/yr +23.9%/yr +72.8%/yr STRL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 74.9% 33.1% 85.6% GVA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 57/100 71/100 AGX

Percentile Scorecard

AGXGVASTRL

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAGXGVASTRL
Valuation 63 #20 of 52 84 #9 of 52 49 #27 of 52
Growth 100 #1 of 37 50 #19 of 37 86 #6 of 37
Profitability 100 #1 of 37 50 #19 of 37 97 #2 of 37
Financial Health 64 #21 of 57 36 #37 of 57 75 #15 of 57
Shareholder Returns 39 #17 of 27 65 #10 of 27 46 #15 of 27
Overall 73 57 71
  • AGX ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • GVA ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • STRL ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAGXGVASTRLSPY
1 month -6.6%-4.1%-28.3% -0.2%
3 months -34.9%-8.9%-31.7% +3.9%
6 months -45.9%-11.5%-22.1% +8.2%
Year to date +8.8%-4.2%+20.0% +12.9%
1 year +15.6%+6.4%-2.5% +12.3%
3 years +664.5%+222.4%+418.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +97.1%+47.8%+73.1% +23.3%
5 years +712.7%+192.0%+1,435.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +52.1%+23.9%+72.8% +10.9%
10 years +518.2%+158.7%+4,685.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year +20.0%+10.0%+47.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAGXGVASTRLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 74.9%33.1%85.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.1%33.6%81.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.720.973.39 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.210.19-0.03 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -58.8%-40.4%-64.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -57.3%-31.1%-63.0% -1.2%
52-week high $798.55$160.39$993.74 $779.14
52-week low $292.22$98.50$283.57 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAGXGVASTRL
P/E now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 26.7x -29.3xmedian 26.7x 26.1xmedian 26.7x
P/S now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 0.8x 1.0xmedian 0.8x 3.3xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.9xmedian 13.1x 10.8xmedian 13.1x 16.0xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 23.0x 10.2xmedian 23.0x 23.4xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 2.4x 6.0xmedian 2.4x 8.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.39median 0.57 0.40median 0.57 0.14median 0.57

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAGXGVASTRL
Revenue $1.19B $4.97B $3.44B
Gross profit $247.88M $776.94M $818.59M
Operating income $182.50M $314.31M $602.35M
Net income $179.31M -$151.53M $460.44M
Free cash flow $545.70M $471.91M $482.00M
EPS (diluted) $12.66 $-3.77 $13.85
Cash & equivalents $364.48M $877.12M $464.45M
Total debt – $1.56B $283.88M
Shares (diluted) 14.16M 43.75M 31.14M
Enterprise value $2.85B $2.49B $9.85B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAGXGVASTRL
P/E 26.7x -29.3x 26.1x
P/FCF 8.8x 10.2x 23.4x
P/Operating cash flow 8.6x 8.0x 18.9x
P/S 4.0x 1.0x 3.3x
P/B 9.4x 6.0x 8.1x
P/Tangible book 9.6x 8.1x 15.4x
EV/EBITDA 22.9x 10.8x 16.0x
EV/EBIT 23.2x 17.4x 18.4x
EV/Revenue 3.6x 1.1x 3.2x
EV/FCF 7.8x 11.6x 23.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 9.1x 18.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.39 0.40 0.14

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAGXGVASTRL
Revenue growth (1Y) 29.0% 21.8% 60.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 35.1% 15.1% 22.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 43.2% 22.0% 72.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 45.7% 30.8% 39.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 55.5% 37.5% 94.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 71.8% 76.7% 49.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 53.0% -185.3% 51.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.9% -85.3% 55.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 52.6% -225.5% 49.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 67.8% -73.5% 183.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 279.5% 37.6% 20.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 108.5% 147.4% 18.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 289.0% 52.7% 10.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 111.7% 94.5% 18.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAGXGVASTRL
Gross margin 20.9% 15.6% 23.8%
EBITDA margin 15.5% 10.2% 20.2%
Operating margin 15.4% 6.3% 17.5%
Pretax margin 18.2% -1.3% 17.5%
Net margin 15.1% -3.3% 12.5%
FCF margin 45.9% 9.5% 14.0%
Operating cash flow margin 46.7% 12.2% 17.4%
Return on equity 36.6% -14.8% 35.6%
Return on assets 13.3% -3.3% 15.4%
Return on invested capital – 13.4% 29.2%
Return on capital employed 39.2% 16.9% 35.5%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.2x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.1x -4.0x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 1.0% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAGXGVASTRL
Debt / assets – 32.6% 8.9%
Debt / equity – 1.9x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.3x -0.3x
Debt / FCF – 3.3x 0.6x
Liabilities / assets 63.8% 83.1% 56.5%
Equity / assets 36.2% 16.9% 43.5%
Interest coverage – 4.5x 36.1x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.0x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.9x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 5.36 2.12 6.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAGXGVASTRL
Dividend yield 0.6% 0.5% –
Net buyback yield 0.3% 1.1% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 0.9% 1.5% 0.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 15.6% -15.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 5.1% 4.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 37.2% 0.1% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 27.7% -0.1% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAGXGVASTRL
Forward P/E 24.3xFY2026 – 19.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.02FY2026 $-3.74FY2026 $18.73FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +43.9%FY2026 -196.9%FY2026 +72.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.8% – +43.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.36BFY2026 $5.09BFY2026 $4.20BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.6%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026 +68.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.0% +12.2% +12.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAGXGVASTRL
Held by institutions 99.2% 100.0% 85.7%
Institutions holding 559 445 888
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.8% -3.0% -6.1%
Institutions buying 315 239 456
Institutions selling 185 151 366
Buyers to sellers 1.70 1.58 1.25

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AGXGVASTRL
AGX 1.00 0.31 0.52
GVA 0.31 1.00 0.44
STRL 0.52 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AGX, GVA and STRL?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Argan (AGX) $4.84B, Granite Construction (GVA) $4.86B, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) $11.53B.

Which stock is cheaper, AGX, GVA and STRL?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Argan (AGX) 27.0x, Granite Construction (GVA) -29.5x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 26.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) is cheapest (Argan (AGX) 24.3x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 19.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Argan (AGX) +29.0%, Granite Construction (GVA) +21.8%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +60.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Argan (AGX) has the highest net margin (Argan (AGX) 15.1%, Granite Construction (GVA) -3.3%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 12.5%). On return on invested capital, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) leads (Granite Construction (GVA) 13.4%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 29.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Argan (AGX) returned the most: Argan (AGX) +15.6%, Granite Construction (GVA) +6.4%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) -2.5%. Over five years, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) compounded fastest (Argan (AGX) +52.1%/yr, Granite Construction (GVA) +23.9%/yr, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +72.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Argan (AGX) has the highest dividend yield: Argan (AGX) 0.01%, Granite Construction (GVA) 0.00%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 0.00%. Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Granite Construction (GVA) has been the steadiest (Argan (AGX) 74.9%, Granite Construction (GVA) 33.1%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 85.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AGX, GVA and STRL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.