Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Archrock (NYSE:AROC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Archrock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Archrock Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AROC opened at $36.29 on Thursday. Archrock has a 52-week low of $21.17 and a 52-week high of $37.72. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.00 and its 200 day moving average is $28.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.29. Archrock had a return on equity of 23.57% and a net margin of 21.63%.The business had revenue of $377.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $378.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Archrock’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Archrock will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. Archrock’s payout ratio is presently 48.09%.

Insider Transactions at Archrock

In other news, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 98,050 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.76, for a total value of $3,408,218.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 484,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,835,554.12. The trade was a 16.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Donna A. Henderson sold 10,413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 27,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,792.18. This trade represents a 27.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 179,963 shares of company stock valued at $6,336,907 over the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archrock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AROC. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Archrock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Archrock in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Archrock by 164.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,082 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Archrock in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archrock Company 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.