AGX vs IBP vs STN Stock Comparison

Argan, Installed Building Products and Stantec Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AGX Argan Inc
$289.24 -25.5% 1M -4.6% 1Y
Market cap
$4.06B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.19B
Div. yield
0.76%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
4 wins
STN Stantec Inc
$78.89 +18.1% 1M -26.9% 1Y
Market cap
$9.00B
P/E
13.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.51B
Div. yield
1.20%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Stantec leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Stantec 6, Argan 4, Installed Building Products 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAGXIBPSTNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.06B $6.27B $9.00B STN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.6x 25.1x 13.8x STN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.6x 23.5x 17.1x STN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +29.0% +0.3% +9.4% AGX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.1% 8.5% 6.2% AGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 16.0% 37.8% STN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.4x 0.0x STN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.76% 1.25% 1.20% IBP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -4.6% -0.8% -26.9% IBP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +44.8%/yr +12.2%/yr +7.5%/yr AGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 77.4% 56.3% 30.9% STN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 74/100 59/100 71/100 AGX

Percentile Scorecard

AGXIBPSTN

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

AxisAGXIBPSTN
Valuation 69 #17 of 52 39 #32 of 52 92 #5 of 52
Growth 100 #1 of 38 19 #31 of 38 38 #24 of 38
Profitability 97 #2 of 38 95 #3 of 38 87 #6 of 38
Financial Health 63 #22 of 57 70 #18 of 57 80 #12 of 57
Shareholder Returns 39 #18 of 29 75 #8 of 29 57 #13 of 29
Overall 74 59 71
  • AGX ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • IBP ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • STN ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAGXIBPSTNSPY
1 month -25.5%+23.6%+18.1% -1.0%
3 months -51.9%-2.3%+7.8% -0.4%
6 months -60.2%-21.2%-14.3% +4.5%
Year to date -7.7%-9.0%-16.4% +12.4%
1 year -4.6%-0.8%-26.9% +13.6%
3 years +540.9%+88.7%+23.9% +76.4%
3 years, per year +85.8%+23.6%+7.4% +20.8%
5 years +536.5%+77.9%+43.4% +63.7%
5 years, per year +44.8%+12.2%+7.5% +10.4%
10 years +423.5%+599.4%+262.7% +267.7%
10 years, per year +18.0%+21.5%+13.8% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureAGXIBPSTNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 77.4%56.3%30.9% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 73.3%61.4%35.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.561.400.73 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.06-0.01-0.87 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -63.8%-49.2%-41.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -63.8%-31.4%-28.6% -1.6%
52-week high $798.55$344.19$110.43 $779.14
52-week low $289.24$180.32$66.69 $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.

MultipleAGXIBPSTN
P/E now vs peer median 22.6xmedian 25.8x 25.1xmedian 25.8x 13.8xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 0.8x 2.1xmedian 0.8x 0.9xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.0xmedian 11.7x 14.5xmedian 11.7x 5.7xmedian 11.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 7.4xmedian 21.6x 21.5xmedian 21.6x 17.0xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 8.0xmedian 2.4x 9.8xmedian 2.4x 3.8xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.33median 0.65 7.55median 0.65 0.67median 0.65

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 monthsAGXIBPSTN
Revenue $1.19B $2.96B $10.51B
Gross profit $247.88M $996.90M $4.58B
Operating income $182.50M $367.80M $1.23B
Net income $179.31M $250.70M $536.90M
Free cash flow $545.70M $291.70M $528.58M
EPS (diluted) $12.66 $9.39 $5.72
Cash & equivalents $364.48M $394.50M $265.54M
Total debt – $1.06B $225.84M
Shares (diluted) 14.16M 26.71M 114.07M
Enterprise value $2.07B $4.75B $7.93B

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
MetricAGXIBPSTN
P/E 22.6x 25.1x 13.8x
P/FCF 7.4x 21.5x 17.0x
P/Operating cash flow 7.3x 17.4x 19.2x
P/S 3.4x 2.1x 0.9x
P/B 8.0x 9.8x 3.8x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 16.9x 4.5x
EV/EBITDA 19.0x 14.5x 5.7x
EV/EBIT 19.2x 18.9x 7.3x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 2.3x 0.9x
EV/FCF 6.4x 23.8x 16.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.3x 19.3x 19.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.33 7.55 0.67

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAGXIBPSTN
Revenue growth (1Y) 29.0% 0.3% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 35.1% 2.4% 10.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 43.2% 0.5% 10.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 45.7% 4.2% 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 55.5% -0.8% 20.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 71.8% 0.2% 16.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 53.0% 0.3% 24.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.9% 1.4% 15.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 52.6% 2.9% 24.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 67.8% 3.3% 20.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 279.5% 0.4% -13.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 108.5% 4.4% 15.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 289.0% 5.3% -10.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 111.7% 3.0% 24.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAGXIBPSTN
Gross margin 20.9% 33.6% 43.6%
EBITDA margin 15.5% 16.2% 14.9%
Operating margin 15.4% 12.4% 11.7%
Pretax margin 18.2% 11.3% 11.3%
Net margin 15.1% 8.5% 6.2%
FCF margin 45.9% 9.8% 5.0%
Operating cash flow margin 46.7% 12.1% 4.4%
Return on equity 36.6% 38.4% 36.3%
Return on assets 13.3% 11.2% 15.1%
Return on invested capital – 16.0% 37.8%
Return on capital employed 39.2% 19.8% 28.3%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.3x 1.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.1x 1.4x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.7% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAGXIBPSTN
Debt / assets – 47.2% 3.9%
Debt / equity – 1.7x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.4x 0.0x
Debt / FCF – 3.6x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 63.8% 71.6% 58.6%
Equity / assets 36.2% 28.4% 41.4%
Interest coverage – 10.2x 9.6x
Current ratio 1.5x 3.0x 1.5x
Quick ratio 0.9x 2.2x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.6x 1.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.87 5.27 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAGXIBPSTN
Dividend yield 0.8% 1.2% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 3.0% –
Shareholder yield 1.1% 4.3% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 15.6% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 5.1% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 37.2% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 27.7% – –

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.

ConsensusAGXIBPSTN
Forward P/E 20.6xFY2026 23.5xFY2026 17.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.02FY2026 $10.04FY2026 $4.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +43.9%FY2026 -12.2%FY2026 +19.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.8% +2.6% +2.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.36BFY2026 $3.10BFY2026 $4.75BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.6%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026 +0.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.0% -7.8% +7.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAGXIBPSTN
Held by institutions 99.2% 97.9% 62.0%
Institutions holding 560 425 294
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.8% +0.2% +2.8%
Institutions buying 316 229 163
Institutions selling 185 146 87
Buyers to sellers 1.71 1.57 1.87

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.

AGXIBPSTN
AGX 1.00 0.02 -0.02
IBP 0.02 1.00 0.24
STN -0.02 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AGX, IBP and STN?

Stantec (STN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Argan (AGX) $4.06B, Installed Building Products (IBP) $6.27B, Stantec (STN) $9.00B.

Which stock is cheaper, AGX, IBP and STN?

Stantec (STN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Argan (AGX) 22.6x, Installed Building Products (IBP) 25.1x, Stantec (STN) 13.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stantec (STN) is cheapest (Argan (AGX) 20.6x, Installed Building Products (IBP) 23.5x, Stantec (STN) 17.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Argan (AGX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Argan (AGX) +29.0%, Installed Building Products (IBP) +0.3%, Stantec (STN) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Argan (AGX) has the highest net margin (Argan (AGX) 15.1%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 8.5%, Stantec (STN) 6.2%). On return on invested capital, Stantec (STN) leads (Installed Building Products (IBP) 16.0%, Stantec (STN) 37.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Installed Building Products (IBP) returned the most: Argan (AGX) -4.6%, Installed Building Products (IBP) -0.8%, Stantec (STN) -26.9%. Over five years, Argan (AGX) compounded fastest (Argan (AGX) +44.8%/yr, Installed Building Products (IBP) +12.2%/yr, Stantec (STN) +7.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Installed Building Products (IBP) has the highest dividend yield: Argan (AGX) 0.76%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 1.25%, Stantec (STN) 1.20%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Stantec (STN) has been the steadiest (Argan (AGX) 77.4%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 56.3%, Stantec (STN) 30.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AGX, IBP and STN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Stantec (STN) leads on 6. 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.