Viking Fund Management LLC Buys Shares of 50,000 Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 50,000 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,312,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Archrock by 111.8% during the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the energy company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 14,200 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Archrock during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 580.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,485 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 3,826 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock in the 4th quarter valued at $126,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Archrock by 338.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,530 shares of the energy company's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AROC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Sidoti raised shares of Archrock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archrock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.67.

Insider Transactions at Archrock

In related news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 42,036 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now owns 275,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,757,060.39. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Archrock Trading Up 2.0%

AROC stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $25.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,056,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,956. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.19. Archrock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.27 and a twelve month high of $30.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.66.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. Archrock had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business had revenue of $347.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.98 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Archrock's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.41%.

Archrock announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 1.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board 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.