Doug Aron Sells 98,050 Shares of Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Stock

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) CFO Doug Aron sold 98,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 484,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,835,554.12. This represents a 16.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Archrock Stock Performance

Shares of AROC traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $34.50. 254,874 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,646,075. Archrock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.12 and a twelve month high of $37.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.04.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.69 EPS 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 business had revenue of $377.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $378.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. Archrock’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on Archrock from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Archrock from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Dawson James reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Archrock from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archrock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Archrock by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 971 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Archrock in the third quarter worth $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Archrock in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Archrock during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

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.