Royce & Associates LP Sells 76,890 Shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP has decreased its position in Archrock, Inc. by 21.6% during the first quarter, now holding approximately $7.34 million worth of shares.
• Archrock recently announced a share repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to $50 million in outstanding shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, a positive increase from the previous $0.19, translating to an annual yield of 3.60%.

Royce & Associates LP lessened its holdings in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,751 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 76,890 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.16% of Archrock worth $7,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in Archrock in the first quarter worth about $1,116,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Archrock in the first quarter worth about $4,628,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Archrock by 2.0% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 1,647,222 shares of the energy company's stock worth $43,223,000 after buying an additional 32,958 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock during the first quarter worth approximately $561,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Archrock by 34.4% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 55,528 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,457,000 after buying an additional 14,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Sidoti raised shares of Archrock to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.00.

Insider Transactions at Archrock

In other news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 42,036 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total transaction of $1,029,461.64. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 275,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,757,060.39. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Archrock Price Performance

Shares of Archrock stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.43. The company had a trading volume of 308,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,387,746. 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 capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.39. Archrock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.26 and a 1-year high of $30.44.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $347.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $342.98 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This is a boost from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Archrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.41%.

Archrock declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership 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.