Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Archrock (NYSE:AROC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AROC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Archrock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Archrock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Archrock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.00.

Archrock Price Performance

AROC stock opened at $24.68 on Monday. Archrock has a one year low of $19.73 and a one year high of $30.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The energy company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. Archrock had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 18.74%. The firm had revenue of $383.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Archrock will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Archrock news, SVP Eric W. Thode sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $235,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 224,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,292,003.86. The trade was a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jason C. Rebrook acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.17 per share, for a total transaction of $241,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 74,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,800,930.87. The trade was a 15.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AROC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Archrock by 164.8% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 964 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Archrock by 217.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,316 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Archrock by 119.6% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock during the first quarter valued at about $47,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Archrock Company Profile

Archrock, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Contract Operations and Aftermarket Services. It engages in the designing, sourcing, owning, installing, operating, servicing, repairing, and maintaining of its owned fleet of natural gas compression equipment to provide natural gas compression services.