Archrock, Inc. $AROC Shares Acquired by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its Archrock stake by 44.1% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 158,680 shares valued at approximately $5.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.45% of AROC.
• Archrock’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with earnings per share of $0.38 versus the $0.45 consensus estimate and revenue of $371.24 million, down 3.1% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.23 per share, or $0.92 annually, representing a 2.8% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $41.29, despite recent insider sales by the CFO and a senior vice president.

Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 44.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 158,680 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 48,599 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.09% of Archrock worth $5,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AROC. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Archrock in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Archrock during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Archrock by 217.9% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,316 shares of the energy company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Archrock by 234.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,410 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 989 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 33,000 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $1,260,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 277,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,595,968.26. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 359,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,762,607.10. This represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Archrock Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE AROC opened at $33.29 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.39. Archrock, Inc. has a one year low of $22.88 and a one year high of $42.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.86.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $371.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $393.19 million. Archrock had a return on equity of 22.22% and a net margin of 21.84%.Archrock's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. Archrock's payout ratio is presently 49.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Archrock from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Archrock from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Archrock from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Archrock from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.29.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source