Archrock, Inc. $AROC Shares Purchased by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies increased its Archrock stake by 52.5% in the first quarter, purchasing 203,706 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 591,534 shares worth approximately $20.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.45% of AROC.
• Archrock insiders sold 158,000 shares worth about $5.9 million in the past quarter, including substantial sales by the CFO and a senior vice president.
• Archrock raised its quarterly dividend from $0.22 to $0.23 per share, equivalent to a $0.92 annualized payout and a 2.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $41.71, despite the company’s latest earnings and revenue falling slightly short of estimates.

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 52.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 591,534 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 203,706 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.34% of Archrock worth $20,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in shares of Archrock by 1.7% during the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 18,744 shares of the energy company's stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its holdings in Archrock by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 12,000 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Archrock by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,290 shares of the energy company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Severin Investments LLC raised its position in Archrock by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 20,111 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Archrock by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 971 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Archrock news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 33,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 277,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,595,968.26. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 90,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total transaction of $3,306,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 394,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,487,941.38. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 158,000 shares of company stock worth $5,907,370 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Archrock Price Performance

Shares of AROC opened at $35.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.95 and a 200-day moving average of $35.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Archrock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.17 and a 52 week high of $42.23.

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

Archrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Archrock's dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Archrock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Archrock from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Archrock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $41.00 price objective on Archrock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archrock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.71.

About Archrock

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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