Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 20,928 Shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 937,873 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,928 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.54% of Archrock worth $24,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Archrock by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 38,313 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $954,000 after buying an additional 5,665 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Archrock by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,030 shares of the energy company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Archrock by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,098 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 53.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 27,402 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 9,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Archrock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $242,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Sidoti upgraded Archrock to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Archrock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Archrock

In related news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 42,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total value of $1,029,461.64. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 275,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,757,060.39. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Archrock Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AROC traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.33. 1,787,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,422,911. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.47. Archrock, Inc. has a one year low of $17.27 and a one year high of $30.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.55. The company has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.08.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. Archrock had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The business had revenue of $347.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.98 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Archrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. 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 authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to reacquire up to 1.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.