Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Archrock, Inc. by 20.3%, bringing its total shares to 667,536 valued at approximately $17.5 million.
• Archrock recently announced a dividend increase to $0.21 per share, up from $0.19, representing a yield of 3.6%.
• A report from Sidoti raised Archrock's stock rating to "hold," with the stock holding a Moderate Buy average rating and a target price of $27.00.

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 20.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 667,536 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 112,498 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.38% of Archrock worth $17,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Archrock by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 17,459 shares of the energy company's stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Archrock by 4.7% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,761 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Archrock by 6.0% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,133 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Archrock by 164.8% in 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 period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 146,819 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,853,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Archrock Stock Performance

Shares of AROC traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,764,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,746. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.10. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.28. Archrock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.26 and a 52 week high of $30.44.

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

Archrock Increases Dividend

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

Archrock announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Sidoti upgraded Archrock to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Archrock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 275,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,757,060.39. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

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.