Archrock, Inc. $AROC Shares Sold by Versor Investments LP

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has reduced its holdings in Archrock, Inc. by 55.9%, selling 17,600 shares and ending the quarter with 13,900 shares valued at $365,000.
• According to recent research ratings, Archrock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $28.40, following recent adjustments from analysts.
• Archrock has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.21 per share, representing a yield of 3.4%, and announced a stock buyback plan to repurchase up to $50 million in shares.

Versor Investments LP cut its stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 55.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,900 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 17,600 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Archrock were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AROC. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Archrock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,092,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Archrock by 186.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,047,346 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,068,000 after purchasing an additional 681,160 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Archrock by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,388,964 shares of the energy company's stock worth $141,406,000 after purchasing an additional 461,940 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Archrock by 84.3% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 919,982 shares of the energy company's stock worth $24,140,000 after purchasing an additional 420,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Archrock by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,241,032 shares of the energy company's stock worth $55,779,000 after purchasing an additional 376,564 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric W. Thode sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $235,400.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Archrock Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE AROC traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.41. 1,654,071 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,635,912. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.81. Archrock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.38 and a twelve month high of $30.44.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The energy company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $383.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.34 million. Archrock had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 18.74%. The business's revenue was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Archrock's payout ratio is 63.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AROC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Sidoti raised shares of Archrock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Archrock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.40.

Archrock 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.