Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Archrock shares hit a new 52-week high, reaching $40.88 intraday and closing near that level after a recent move above its prior $38.79 close. The stock’s rise came amid strong trading volume.
• Several analysts raised price targets and maintained bullish ratings on Archrock, including Wells Fargo and Citigroup lifting targets to $43. The consensus analyst rating is currently Buy with an average price target of $41.14.
• The company’s latest earnings missed estimates on EPS and revenue, though revenue still grew 7.7% year over year. Archrock also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, for a 2.2% annualized yield.

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.88 and last traded at $40.8690, with a volume of 430728 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AROC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Dawson James reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $41.00 price objective on Archrock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Archrock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.14.

Archrock Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm's 50-day moving average is $36.61 and its 200-day moving average is $32.88.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.05). Archrock had a net margin of 21.45% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The firm had revenue of $373.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $378.36 million. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. Archrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.83%.

Insider Activity at Archrock

In other Archrock news, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total transaction of $1,340,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 359,337 shares in the company, valued at $13,762,607.10. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 33,000 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $1,260,270.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 277,454 shares in the company, valued at $10,595,968.26. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 327,550 shares of company stock valued at $11,861,703. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archrock

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AROC. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Archrock by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,719,020 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $226,869,000 after buying an additional 457,569 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Archrock by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,018,889 shares of the energy company's stock worth $182,631,000 after buying an additional 152,312 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Archrock by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,833,290 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $177,805,000 after acquiring an additional 111,218 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Archrock by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,077,999 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $159,912,000 after acquiring an additional 191,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Archrock by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,499,093 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $144,681,000 after acquiring an additional 187,252 shares during the period. 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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