Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $33.82 and last traded at $33.7440, with a volume of 834666 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AROC shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Archrock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Archrock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.40.

Archrock Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Archrock’s payout ratio is currently 58.67%.

Institutional Trading of Archrock

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AROC. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Archrock by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 264,991 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,972,000 after buying an additional 43,872 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Archrock by 55.1% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 121,089 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,049,000 after acquiring an additional 43,023 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors raised its holdings in Archrock by 62.3% during the third quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 291,534 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $7,670,000 after acquiring an additional 111,908 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its position in shares of Archrock by 515.9% in the second quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 91,643 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 76,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Archrock by 78.7% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,237,956 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $30,738,000 after acquiring an additional 545,336 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.