AGX vs IBP vs STRL Stock Comparison

Argan, Installed Building Products 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
$4.94B
P/E
27.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.19B
Div. yield
0.01%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Sterling Infrastructure leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Sterling Infrastructure 6, Argan 3, Installed Building Products 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAGXIBPSTRLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.94B $5.29B $11.90B STRL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.6x 21.1x 27.6x IBP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.3x 20.5x 19.6x STRL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +29.0% +0.3% +60.8% STRL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.1% 8.5% 12.5% AGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 16.0% 29.2% STRL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.4x -0.3x STRL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +15.6% -24.4% -2.5% AGX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +52.1%/yr +10.6%/yr +72.8%/yr STRL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 74.9% 54.9% 85.6% IBP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 63/100 71/100 AGX

Percentile Scorecard

AGXIBPSTRL

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

AxisAGXIBPSTRL
Valuation 63 #20 of 52 51 #26 of 52 49 #27 of 52
Growth 100 #1 of 37 19 #30 of 37 86 #6 of 37
Profitability 100 #1 of 37 94 #3 of 37 97 #2 of 37
Financial Health 64 #21 of 57 68 #19 of 57 75 #15 of 57
Shareholder Returns 39 #17 of 27 81 #6 of 27 46 #15 of 27
Overall 73 63 71
  • AGX ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • IBP 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

PeriodAGXIBPSTRLSPY
1 month -6.6%+2.6%-28.3% -0.2%
3 months -34.9%-14.4%-31.7% +3.9%
6 months -45.9%-30.1%-22.1% +8.2%
Year to date +8.8%-20.8%+20.0% +12.9%
1 year +15.6%-24.4%-2.5% +12.3%
3 years +664.5%+88.5%+418.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +97.1%+23.6%+73.1% +23.3%
5 years +712.7%+65.6%+1,435.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +52.1%+10.6%+72.8% +10.9%
10 years +518.2%+544.8%+4,685.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year +20.0%+20.5%+47.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAGXIBPSTRLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 74.9%54.9%85.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.1%60.7%81.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.721.393.39 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.21-0.44-0.03 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -58.8%-49.2%-64.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -57.3%-40.3%-63.0% -1.2%
52-week high $798.55$344.19$993.74 $779.14
52-week low $292.22$180.32$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.

MultipleAGXIBPSTRL
P/E now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 26.7x 21.8xmedian 26.7x 26.1xmedian 26.7x
P/S now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 0.8x 1.8xmedian 0.8x 3.3xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.9xmedian 13.1x 12.8xmedian 13.1x 16.0xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 23.0x 18.7xmedian 23.0x 23.4xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 2.4x 8.5xmedian 2.4x 8.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.39median 0.57 6.57median 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 monthsAGXIBPSTRL
Revenue $1.19B $2.96B $3.44B
Gross profit $247.88M $996.90M $818.59M
Operating income $182.50M $367.80M $602.35M
Net income $179.31M $250.70M $460.44M
Free cash flow $545.70M $291.70M $482.00M
EPS (diluted) $12.66 $9.39 $13.85
Cash & equivalents $364.48M $394.50M $464.45M
Total debt – $1.06B $283.88M
Shares (diluted) 14.16M 26.71M 31.14M
Enterprise value $2.95B $3.77B $10.23B

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
MetricAGXIBPSTRL
P/E 26.7x 21.8x 26.1x
P/FCF 8.8x 18.7x 23.4x
P/Operating cash flow 8.6x 15.2x 18.9x
P/S 4.0x 1.8x 3.3x
P/B 9.4x 8.5x 8.1x
P/Tangible book 9.6x 14.7x 15.4x
EV/EBITDA 22.9x 12.8x 16.0x
EV/EBIT 23.2x 16.7x 18.4x
EV/Revenue 3.6x 2.1x 3.2x
EV/FCF 7.8x 21.0x 23.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 17.0x 18.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.39 6.57 0.14

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAGXIBPSTRL
Revenue growth (1Y) 29.0% 0.3% 60.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 35.1% 2.4% 22.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 43.2% 0.5% 72.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 45.7% 4.2% 39.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 55.5% -0.8% 94.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 71.8% 0.2% 49.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 53.0% 0.3% 51.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.9% 1.4% 55.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 52.6% 2.9% 49.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 67.8% 3.3% 183.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 279.5% 0.4% 20.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 108.5% 4.4% 18.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 289.0% 5.3% 10.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 111.7% 3.0% 18.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAGXIBPSTRL
Gross margin 20.9% 33.6% 23.8%
EBITDA margin 15.5% 16.2% 20.2%
Operating margin 15.4% 12.4% 17.5%
Pretax margin 18.2% 11.3% 17.5%
Net margin 15.1% 8.5% 12.5%
FCF margin 45.9% 9.8% 14.0%
Operating cash flow margin 46.7% 12.1% 17.4%
Return on equity 36.6% 38.4% 35.6%
Return on assets 13.3% 11.2% 15.4%
Return on invested capital – 16.0% 29.2%
Return on capital employed 39.2% 19.8% 35.5%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.3x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.1x 1.4x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.7% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAGXIBPSTRL
Debt / assets – 47.2% 8.9%
Debt / equity – 1.7x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.4x -0.3x
Debt / FCF – 3.6x 0.6x
Liabilities / assets 63.8% 71.6% 56.5%
Equity / assets 36.2% 28.4% 43.5%
Interest coverage – 10.2x 36.1x
Current ratio 1.5x 3.0x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.9x 2.2x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.6x 1.0x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 5.36 4.96 6.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAGXIBPSTRL
Dividend yield 0.6% 1.4% –
Net buyback yield 0.3% 3.5% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 0.9% 4.9% 0.6%
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.

ConsensusAGXIBPSTRL
Forward P/E 24.3xFY2026 20.5xFY2026 19.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.02FY2026 $10.04FY2026 $18.73FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +43.9%FY2026 -12.2%FY2026 +72.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.8% +2.6% +43.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.36BFY2026 $3.10BFY2026 $4.20BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.6%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026 +68.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.0% -7.8% +12.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAGXIBPSTRL
Held by institutions 99.2% 97.9% 85.7%
Institutions holding 559 423 888
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.8% +0.2% -6.1%
Institutions buying 315 229 456
Institutions selling 185 146 366
Buyers to sellers 1.70 1.57 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.

AGXIBPSTRL
AGX 1.00 0.08 0.52
IBP 0.08 1.00 0.20
STRL 0.52 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AGX, IBP and STRL?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Argan (AGX) $4.94B, Installed Building Products (IBP) $5.29B, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) $11.90B.

Which stock is cheaper, AGX, IBP and STRL?

Installed Building Products (IBP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Argan (AGX) 27.6x, Installed Building Products (IBP) 21.1x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 27.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) is cheapest (Argan (AGX) 24.3x, Installed Building Products (IBP) 20.5x, 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%, Installed Building Products (IBP) +0.3%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +60.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Argan (AGX) has the highest net margin (Argan (AGX) 15.1%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 8.5%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 12.5%). On return on invested capital, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) leads (Installed Building Products (IBP) 16.0%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 29.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Argan (AGX) returned the most: Argan (AGX) +15.6%, Installed Building Products (IBP) -24.4%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) -2.5%. Over five years, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) compounded fastest (Argan (AGX) +52.1%/yr, Installed Building Products (IBP) +10.6%/yr, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +72.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Argan (AGX) 0.01%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 0.00%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 0.00%. Installed Building Products (IBP) and Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Installed Building Products (IBP) has been the steadiest (Argan (AGX) 74.9%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 54.9%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 85.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AGX, IBP 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 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.