CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Grows Position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 459,301 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,475 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.26% of Archrock worth $12,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AROC. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Archrock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,241,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Archrock by 12.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Archrock in the fourth quarter worth $17,247,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 186.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,047,346 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,068,000 after purchasing an additional 681,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 135.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 993,063 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $24,717,000 after purchasing an additional 570,680 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Archrock Stock Performance

Shares of AROC stock traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $24.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,011,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,916. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.47. Archrock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.27 and a 1 year high of $30.44. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.57.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $347.16 million for 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 EPS for the current year.

Archrock declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, May 5th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 1.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Archrock's payout ratio is currently 64.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Archrock

In related news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 42,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total value of $1,029,461.64. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 275,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,757,060.39. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AROC shares. Sidoti upgraded Archrock to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

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.