Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stake in Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) by 78.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,237,956 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 545,336 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.70% of Archrock worth $30,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Archrock by 217.9% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,316 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Archrock by 119.6% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock during the first quarter worth about $47,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Archrock during the first quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Motco acquired a new position in shares of Archrock during the second quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Archrock Stock Up 0.6%

AROC stock opened at $24.15 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.50. The company has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Archrock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.12 and a 12 month high of $30.44.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $382.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $379.29 million. Archrock had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 20.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 30.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Archrock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. Archrock’s payout ratio is 56.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AROC shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Archrock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Archrock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Archrock from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric W. Thode sold 40,740 shares of Archrock 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 184,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,821.60. This trade represents a 18.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jason C. Rebrook acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.17 per share, for a total transaction of $241,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 74,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,800,930.87. This represents a 15.50% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

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.