Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 127,017 Shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Archrock, Inc. by 14.0% during the first quarter, owning approximately 1,036,020 shares worth around $27.2 million.
• Archrock announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.21 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.7% and an increase from the previous dividend of $0.19.
• Wall Street analysts have given Archrock a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $27.00, indicating positive outlook on the stock's future performance.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,036,020 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 127,017 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.59% of Archrock worth $27,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AROC. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Archrock by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 17,459 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Archrock by 4.7% in 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 boosted 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 acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Archrock by 164.8% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 964 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Archrock by 0.4% in the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AROC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sidoti upgraded shares of Archrock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.40.

Archrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AROC traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.86. 1,341,562 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,420,759. Archrock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.38 and a 12-month high of $30.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.10. The business's fifty day moving average price is $24.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.18.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The energy company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. Archrock had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 17.17%. The company had revenue of $383.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. Archrock's revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Archrock's payout ratio is presently 64.41%.

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

Insider Activity at Archrock

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 transaction of $1,029,461.64. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Archrock Company 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.