Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Stock Price

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) had its target price lifted by Mizuho from $32.00 to $38.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the energy company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Archrock from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Dawson James reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Archrock from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Archrock from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.00.

Archrock Price Performance

Shares of AROC stock opened at $34.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.09. Archrock has a 12 month low of $20.12 and a 12 month high of $37.72. The company has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.91.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.29. Archrock had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 23.57%. The business had revenue of $377.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.04 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Analysts predict that Archrock will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donna A. Henderson sold 10,413 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total value of $382,573.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,019,792.18. This trade represents a 27.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 98,050 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.76, for a total transaction of $3,408,218.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 484,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,835,554.12. This trade represents a 16.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 179,963 shares of company stock valued at $6,336,907 in the last ninety days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Archrock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AROC. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock in the 4th quarter valued at $61,144,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in Archrock by 9,756.7% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,293,002 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,884 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Archrock in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,904,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Archrock during the third quarter worth about $19,603,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Archrock during the fourth quarter worth about $18,721,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

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.