Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $30.15 and last traded at $29.88, with a volume of 53764 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.83.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on AROC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Archrock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Archrock from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.40.

Insider Activity at Archrock

In related news, SVP Eric W. Thode sold 40,740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $1,022,574.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 184,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,623,821.60. This represents a 18.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Archrock

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AROC. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Archrock by 71.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Archrock during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Archrock by 164.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Archrock during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Archrock by 217.9% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,316 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Archrock Stock Up 4.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.16. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.93.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.00%.

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.