Doug Aron Sells 35,000 Shares of Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Stock

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) CFO Doug Aron sold 35,000 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total value of $1,340,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 359,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,762,607.10. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Archrock Stock Up 3.1%

NYSE:AROC traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,292,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,637,382. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.55. Archrock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.17 and a 12-month high of $40.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $373.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.36 million. Archrock had a net margin of 21.45% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.83%.

Institutional Trading of Archrock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 164.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,082 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AROC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Archrock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Archrock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Archrock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Archrock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.86.

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.