Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 36,847 Shares of Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its Archrock stake by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 36,847 additional shares and bringing its total position to 127,471 shares worth about $3.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with several other large investors also adding or initiating positions in Archrock; institutions now own 95.45% of the stock.
• Analysts are generally positive on Archrock, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $41.14, while the stock recently traded at $38.56. The company also reported quarterly earnings and revenue that both came in slightly below expectations.

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,471 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,847 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.07% of Archrock worth $3,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AROC. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Archrock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,144,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 9,756.7% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,293,002 shares of the energy company's stock worth $33,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,884 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,904,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Archrock in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,603,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Archrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,721,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Archrock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Archrock from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Archrock from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $41.00 price objective on Archrock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.14.

Archrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AROC opened at $38.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.41. Archrock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.17 and a fifty-two week high of $42.23. The stock has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.18 and a 200-day moving average of $33.96.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $373.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $378.36 million. Archrock had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 21.45%.Archrock's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. Archrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.83%.

Insider Transactions at Archrock

In other news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 33,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $1,260,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 277,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,595,968.26. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total value of $1,340,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 359,337 shares in the company, valued at $13,762,607.10. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 158,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,907,370. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

About Archrock

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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