King Luther Capital Management Corp Acquires 30,356 Shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Archrock, Inc. by 18.3% in Q1, owning a total of 196,508 shares valued at approximately $5.2 million.
• The energy company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.21 per share, up from $0.19, representing an annual yield of 3.6%.
• Archrock reported earnings of $0.39 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates and showcasing a year-over-year revenue growth of 41.6%.

King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,508 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,356 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Archrock worth $5,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Archrock by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 182,804 shares of the energy company's stock worth $4,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Archrock by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 19,220 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Archrock by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 463,700 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $11,541,000 after buying an additional 17,900 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Archrock in the 4th quarter valued at $36,241,000. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new position in Archrock in the 4th quarter valued at $1,176,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AROC shares. Sidoti upgraded Archrock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Archrock from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.40.

Archrock Trading Up 0.1%

AROC stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.02. 1,322,854 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,671,430. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.94. Archrock, Inc. has a one year low of $18.38 and a one year high of $30.44. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The energy company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. Archrock had a return on equity of 18.74% and a net margin of 17.17%. The firm had revenue of $383.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Archrock's dividend payout ratio is 63.64%.

Archrock declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, May 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to buy up to 1.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.