Vanguard Group Inc. Has $532.74 Million Position in Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Archrock, Inc. by 5.9%, now holding approximately 20.3 million shares, valued at about $532.74 million.
• Archrock's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.39, exceeding analysts' expectations, while its revenue increased by 41.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.21 per share, alongside a share buyback program worth $50 million, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,302,436 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 1,269,364 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.58% of Archrock worth $532,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock in the fourth quarter worth about $36,241,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Archrock by 186.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,047,346 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,068,000 after purchasing an additional 681,160 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Archrock by 84.3% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 919,982 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $24,140,000 after purchasing an additional 420,757 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Archrock by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,241,032 shares of the energy company's stock worth $55,779,000 after buying an additional 376,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 3,224.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 238,732 shares of the energy company's stock worth $62,640,000 after buying an additional 231,551 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Archrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AROC traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.19. 127,132 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,415,380. Archrock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.38 and a 12 month high of $30.44. The firm has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $23.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.81.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The energy company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. Archrock had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 18.74%. The business had revenue of $383.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Archrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.64%.

Archrock announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to reacquire up to 1.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Archrock from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Sidoti raised shares of Archrock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Eric W. Thode sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $235,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 224,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,292,003.86. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Archrock Profile

Archrock, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Contract Operations and Aftermarket Services. It engages in the designing, sourcing, owning, installing, operating, servicing, repairing, and maintaining of its owned fleet of natural gas compression equipment to provide natural gas compression services.