Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,722,072 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 207,978 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.83% of Archrock worth $176,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Archrock by 24.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 56,849 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after buying an additional 11,231 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Archrock by 3.3% during 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. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Archrock by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 113,294 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,981,000 after acquiring an additional 46,626 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Archrock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Archrock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,657,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Archrock from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Archrock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Archrock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.86.

Insider Activity at Archrock

In other news, CAO Donna A. Henderson sold 10,413 shares of the firm’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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Archrock Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:AROC opened at $35.97 on Tuesday. Archrock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.12 and a 52 week high of $37.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.75. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The energy company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $377.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $378.04 million. Archrock had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 23.57%. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Archrock’s payout ratio is currently 48.09%.

About Archrock

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.