Citigroup Inc. Sells 21,572 Shares of Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. has reduced its position in Archrock, Inc. by 7.5%, selling 21,572 shares and now holding 264,266 shares valued at approximately $6.93 million.
• Archrock reported earnings of $0.39 EPS, exceeding estimates, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 41.6% to $383.15 million for the last quarter.
• The company's Board of Directors has authorized a $50 million stock repurchase plan, signaling confidence in the stock's undervaluation.

Citigroup Inc. lowered its stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 264,266 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 21,572 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.15% of Archrock worth $6,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Archrock by 164.8% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 964 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Archrock during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Archrock by 119.6% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Archrock during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Archrock by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 3,474 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Archrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AROC traded up $0.3850 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.3450. The company had a trading volume of 358,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,415,034. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.10. Archrock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.38 and a 52 week high of $30.44. The business's 50-day moving average is $23.86 and its 200 day moving average is $24.77. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $383.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.34 million. Archrock had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 18.74%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to purchase up to 1.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Archrock's payout ratio is 63.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Archrock

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sidoti upgraded shares of Archrock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.40.

About Archrock

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.