Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 78.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,520 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 16,491 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Archrock were worth $112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AROC. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Archrock by 124.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 302,610 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,125,000 after purchasing an additional 167,648 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archrock during the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Archrock by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 61,383 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Archrock by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 369,165 shares of the energy company's stock worth $9,189,000 after purchasing an additional 15,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Archrock by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 27,717 shares of the energy company's stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Archrock Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AROC traded down $0.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $25.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 130,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,396,634. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.26. Archrock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.26 and a fifty-two week high of $30.44. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.60. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.19.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. Archrock had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $347.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $342.98 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Archrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Archrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.41%.

Archrock announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 1.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Sidoti upgraded Archrock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Archrock from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 now directly owns 275,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,757,060.39. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Archrock Profile

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.