SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Position in Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Archrock by 611% in Q4, buying an additional 154,633 shares to own 179,942 shares valued at about $4.68 million (0.10% of the company).
• Archrock topped quarterly EPS estimates ($0.69 vs. $0.40) with revenue up 15.5% year-over-year, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 (annualized $0.88, ~2.6% yield).
• Multiple analysts lifted ratings and price targets (including RBC, Citigroup and Stifel to $40), leaving a consensus "Buy" rating and an average target of $38.14.

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 611.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 179,942 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 154,633 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.10% of Archrock worth $4,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AROC. Diversified Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Archrock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $776,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archrock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. Henson Edgewater Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archrock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $653,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Archrock by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 438,624 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $11,540,000 after acquiring an additional 64,041 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its position in Archrock by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 649,481 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $17,088,000 after acquiring an additional 25,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Archrock

In other Archrock news, CAO Donna A. Henderson sold 10,413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total transaction of $382,573.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,757 shares in the company, valued at $1,019,792.18. This represents a 27.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AROC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Archrock from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $38.14.

Archrock Trading Down 1.8%

AROC opened at $34.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock's fifty day moving average is $33.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.04. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.87. Archrock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.12 and a 52 week high of $37.72.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $377.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $378.04 million. Archrock had a return on equity of 23.57% and a net margin of 21.63%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. 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 was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. Archrock's payout ratio is currently 48.09%.

About Archrock

Archrock, Inc is a Houston‐based provider of natural gas compression services and equipment to the oil and gas industry in North America. Founded in 2004, the company supplies both short‐term rentals and long‐term contracts for compression solutions, serving upstream and midstream producers. Archrock's offerings include engineered compression systems, aftermarket parts, maintenance and field services designed to optimize wellhead and pipeline operations.

The company's core business activities focus on the design, manufacture, rental and sale of gas compression equipment.

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