Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 209,696 Shares of Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital increased its Archrock stake by 33.8%, acquiring 209,696 shares to own 830,124 shares valued at approximately $28.9 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 95.45% of AROC’s outstanding stock.
• Archrock insiders sold 158,000 shares worth about $5.9 million over the past 90 days, including significant sales by the CFO and a senior vice president.
• Archrock’s latest quarterly results missed analyst expectations, with EPS of $0.42 versus $0.47 expected, but revenue rose 7.7% year over year. The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.23, while analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average $41.71 price target.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 33.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 830,124 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 209,696 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.47% of Archrock worth $28,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Archrock by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 292,685 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $10,185,000 after buying an additional 82,897 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Archrock by 13.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,968 shares of the energy company's stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Archrock during the first quarter worth $272,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Archrock by 11.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 23,505 shares of the energy company's stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Archrock by 1,817.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,670 shares of the energy company's stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 7,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Archrock

In related news, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 90,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total value of $3,306,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 394,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,487,941.38. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 33,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 277,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,595,968.26. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 158,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,907,370 in the last 90 days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Archrock Price Performance

Shares of AROC opened at $35.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.84. Archrock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.17 and a 52-week high of $42.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.03.

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

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Archrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AROC shares. 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Archrock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Archrock from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Archrock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Archrock from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archrock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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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