Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys 137,489 Shares of Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) by 15,293.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 138,388 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 137,489 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Archrock were worth $3,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AROC. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Archrock by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 971 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Archrock in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Archrock in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Archrock by 217.9% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,316 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Archrock by 92.6% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Archrock Price Performance

AROC opened at $37.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.98. Archrock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.17 and a 1 year high of $40.12.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $373.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.36 million. Archrock had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 21.45%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. Archrock’s payout ratio is currently 47.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AROC shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $41.00 price target on shares of Archrock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Archrock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Archrock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Archrock news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 33,000 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $1,260,270.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 277,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,595,968.26. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Donna A. Henderson sold 10,413 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 337,963 shares of company stock valued at $12,244,277 in the last three months. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Archrock Profile

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.