Bernzott Capital Advisors Sells 11,775 Shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Bernzott Capital Advisors cut its position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 43.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,395 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 11,775 shares during the quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors' holdings in Archrock were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Archrock by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,571,800 shares of the energy company's stock worth $536,922,000 after acquiring an additional 508,214 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Archrock by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 13,074,904 shares of the energy company's stock worth $325,434,000 after purchasing an additional 47,563 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Archrock by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,883,949 shares of the energy company's stock worth $221,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,438 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Archrock by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,354,764 shares of the energy company's stock worth $133,280,000 after purchasing an additional 411,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Archrock by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,927,024 shares of the energy company's stock worth $122,634,000 after purchasing an additional 448,410 shares during the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Archrock news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 42,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total transaction of $1,029,461.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 275,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,757,060.39. This represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Sidoti raised shares of Archrock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Archrock Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AROC traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,840,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,012. Archrock, Inc. has a one year low of $17.27 and a one year high of $30.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Archrock declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to purchase up to 1.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Archrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Archrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.41%.

Archrock Company 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.