Doug Aron Sells 71,500 Shares of Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Stock

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) CFO Doug Aron sold 71,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total transaction of $2,546,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 582,387 shares in the company, valued at $20,738,801.07. The trade was a 10.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Archrock Stock Performance

Shares of AROC stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $34.50. 254,874 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,646,075. Archrock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.12 and a 52 week high of $37.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.29. Archrock had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 23.57%. The firm had revenue of $377.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This is an increase from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Archrock’s payout ratio is 48.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Archrock

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Archrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 164.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,082 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Archrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AROC shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Archrock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Archrock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Archrock from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

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.