HMS Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 13,559 Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Key Points

• HMS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Archrock, Inc. by purchasing 13,559 shares worth approximately $356,000. This investment highlights the growing interest from institutional investors in the energy sector.
• Archrock recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.21 per share, reflecting a positive outlook and a dividend yield of 3.5%, which suggests confidence in the company's financial health.
• The company's stock has shown significant growth, with a 41.6% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, indicating strong performance amidst market fluctuations.

HMS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,559 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AROC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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. purchased a new position in shares of Archrock in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Archrock by 119.6% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Archrock during the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Archrock during the first quarter valued at about $71,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Archrock Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:AROC traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $24.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 384,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,576. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.87 and a 200-day moving average of $24.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.10. Archrock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.38 and a 12-month high of $30.44.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The energy company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $383.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.34 million. Archrock had a return on equity of 18.74% and a net margin of 17.17%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Archrock's payout ratio is currently 63.64%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric W. Thode sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $235,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 224,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,292,003.86. The trade was a 4.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.