Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 210,844 Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP has acquired 210,844 shares of Archrock, Inc. ($AROC), valued at approximately $5.53 million, representing a 0.12% stake in the company.
• In the latest quarterly earnings, Archrock reported an EPS of $0.39, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.37, and a revenue of $383.15 million, a 41.6% year-over-year increase.
• Archrock has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.21 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.5%, and initiated a stock buyback program worth $50 million.

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 210,844 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $5,533,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned 0.12% of Archrock at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Archrock by 1.4% in the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 38,161 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Archrock by 4.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 6.0% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,133 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Archrock by 164.8% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 964 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Archrock by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 146,819 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,853,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AROC shares. Sidoti upgraded shares of Archrock to a "hold" rating in a report 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, August 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Archrock news, SVP Eric W. Thode sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $235,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 224,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,292,003.86. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Archrock Price Performance

AROC traded up $0.2550 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.2150. 1,816,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,590,557. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The company has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.10. Archrock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.38 and a 12-month high of $30.44. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.74.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $383.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.34 million. Archrock had a return on equity of 18.74% and a net margin of 17.17%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Archrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.64%.

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