Ellsworth Advisors LLC Invests $5.31 Million in Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Key Points

• Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new stake of 202,909 shares of Archrock (NYSE:AROC) in Q4, valued at about $5.31 million, representing roughly 0.12% of the company.
• Archrock reported quarterly EPS of $0.69 (vs. $0.40 expected) with revenue up 15.5% year-over-year, and analysts hold a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $38.14 (Stifel raised its target to $40).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 (annualized $0.88) for a yield of ~2.6% and a payout ratio near 48%, while insiders have recently trimmed holdings via a small sale.

Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 202,909 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $5,312,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Archrock as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Archrock by 3.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,077,999 shares of the energy company's stock worth $159,912,000 after acquiring an additional 191,914 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Archrock by 19.8% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 264,991 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $6,972,000 after acquiring an additional 43,872 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Archrock by 55.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 121,089 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,049,000 after purchasing an additional 43,023 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Archrock during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,657,000. Finally, Bernzott Capital Advisors raised its stake in Archrock by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 291,534 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $7,670,000 after purchasing an additional 111,908 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Archrock from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Dawson James restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Archrock from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $38.14.

Archrock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AROC opened at $34.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Archrock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.12 and a 12 month high of $37.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.04.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $377.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $378.04 million. Archrock had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 23.57%. Archrock's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Archrock's payout ratio is currently 48.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Archrock news, CAO Donna A. Henderson sold 10,413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total transaction of $382,573.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,757 shares in the company, valued at $1,019,792.18. The trade was a 27.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Archrock Profile

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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