Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $39.83, but opened at $36.75. Archrock shares last traded at $38.5120, with a volume of 529,478 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AROC. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Archrock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on Archrock from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Archrock from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.00.

Archrock Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.84.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $377.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.04 million. Archrock had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 23.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Archrock’s payout ratio is currently 48.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 98,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was 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 owned 484,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,835,554.12. The trade was a 16.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Donna A. Henderson sold 10,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total transaction of $382,573.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,019,792.18. This represents a 27.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 179,963 shares of company stock valued at $6,336,907. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archrock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 971 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Archrock during the first quarter worth $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Archrock by 164.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.