Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• 52‑week high: Archrock shares hit a new 52‑week high of $39.70; analysts maintain a consensus of “Moderate Buy” (9 Buy, 2 Hold) with an average price target of $39 and several firms raising targets to $40.
• Strong quarterly results and dividend: Archrock beat EPS estimates ($0.69 vs. $0.40), reported 15.5% year‑over‑year revenue growth, a 23.6% ROE and 21.6% net margin, and declared a $0.22 quarterly dividend (2.3% yield).
• Notable insider selling: Insiders sold roughly 179,963 shares (~$6.34M) in the past three months (including sales by the CAO and CFO), leaving insiders with about 2.90% ownership.

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $39.70 and last traded at $39.2920, with a volume of 218152 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Archrock from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research lowered Archrock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archrock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.00.

Archrock Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.94.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.29. Archrock had a return on equity of 23.57% and a net margin of 21.63%.The firm had revenue of $377.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $378.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Archrock's payout ratio is 48.09%.

Insider Transactions at Archrock

In other news, CAO Donna A. Henderson sold 10,413 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total value of $382,573.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,019,792.18. This represents a 27.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 98,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.76, for a total value of $3,408,218.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 484,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,835,554.12. The trade was a 16.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 179,963 shares of company stock valued at $6,336,907. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Archrock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 3.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,077,999 shares of the energy company's stock worth $159,912,000 after buying an additional 191,914 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 19.8% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 264,991 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,972,000 after buying an additional 43,872 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 17.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 438,624 shares of the energy company's stock worth $11,540,000 after buying an additional 64,041 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 62.3% in the third quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 291,534 shares of the energy company's stock worth $7,670,000 after buying an additional 111,908 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock in the fourth quarter worth about $776,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Archrock Company Profile

Archrock, Inc is a Houston‐based provider of natural gas compression services and equipment to the oil and gas industry in North America. Founded in 2004, the company supplies both short‐term rentals and long‐term contracts for compression solutions, serving upstream and midstream producers. Archrock's offerings include engineered compression systems, aftermarket parts, maintenance and field services designed to optimize wellhead and pipeline operations.

The company's core business activities focus on the design, manufacture, rental and sale of gas compression equipment.

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