Doug Aron Sells 90,000 Shares of Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Stock

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) CFO Doug Aron sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total transaction of $3,306,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 394,337 shares in the company, valued at $14,487,941.38. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Archrock Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE AROC opened at $38.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.94. Archrock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.17 and a 12-month high of $40.12.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $373.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.36 million. Archrock had a net margin of 21.45% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.83%.

Key Stories Impacting Archrock

Here are the key news stories impacting Archrock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Archrock has continued to attract favorable Wall Street coverage, including recent price-target increases from Citigroup and Wells Fargo, with a consensus analyst rating of “Buy” and an average target above the current share price.
• Positive Sentiment: The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reinforcing its income appeal for shareholders.
• Neutral Sentiment: Archrock reported first-quarter results that missed earnings and revenue estimates, even though revenue still grew year over year; this is a mixed fundamental signal rather than a clear catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO/CFO-level insider selling has been a headwind for sentiment, with CFO Doug Aron and SVP Jason Ingersoll both selling shares in recent filings. SEC filing for Doug Aron sale SEC filing for Jason Ingersoll sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AROC shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $41.00 target price on shares of Archrock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Archrock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Dawson James reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Archrock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archrock

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Archrock by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,077,999 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $159,912,000 after acquiring an additional 191,914 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Archrock by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 264,991 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,972,000 after acquiring an additional 43,872 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Archrock by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 438,624 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,540,000 after acquiring an additional 64,041 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in Archrock in the 4th quarter worth about $32,904,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Archrock in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,657,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.