Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $1.69 Million Stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in Archrock by 27.7%, now holding approximately $1.69 million, after selling 24,600 shares in the first quarter.
• Archrock's Board of Directors approved a stock buyback plan worth $50 million, indicating confidence in the stock's value.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous $0.19, with a 3.6% yield.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. cut its position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,267 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 24,600 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Archrock were worth $1,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in Archrock by 34.4% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 55,528 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 14,200 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 13.2% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,030 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 26.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,098 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 53.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 27,402 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,594 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archrock in the fourth quarter valued at about $242,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Archrock Price Performance

AROC stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,764,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,746. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.28. Archrock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.26 and a 1-year high of $30.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $347.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.98 million. Archrock had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 16.38%. Equities research analysts expect that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. Archrock's payout ratio is presently 64.41%.

Archrock declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 42,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total value of $1,029,461.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 275,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,757,060.39. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.