HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Invests $19.60 Million in Archrock, Inc. $AROC

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 745,087 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,603,000. Archrock comprises approximately 1.1% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 95,866 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,514,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 217.9% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,316 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Archrock by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 69,977 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Archrock during the 2nd quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Archrock in the second quarter worth $1,495,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Archrock Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of AROC stock opened at $35.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.54. Archrock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.12 and a 1 year high of $37.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.87.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The energy company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.29. Archrock had a return on equity of 23.57% and a net margin of 21.63%.The company had revenue of $377.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $378.04 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Archrock’s payout ratio is currently 48.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AROC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Archrock from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Archrock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Archrock news, CAO Donna A. Henderson sold 10,413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total transaction of $382,573.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,792.18. This trade represents a 27.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Archrock 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.