Blackstone Inc. Decreases Holdings in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Blackstone Inc. reduced its position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) by 85.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 112,323 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 677,440 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc.’s holdings in Archrock were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Archrock by 111.8% in the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 14,200 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Archrock during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Archrock during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archrock in the fourth quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Archrock by 580.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,485 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 3,826 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Archrock from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Archrock Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE AROC opened at $23.91 on Tuesday. Archrock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.27 and a 52-week high of $30.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.52 and a 200-day moving average of $25.16.

Archrock announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 1.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Archrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.08%.

Archrock Profile

Archrock, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Contract Operations and Aftermarket Services. It engages in the designing, sourcing, owning, installing, operating, servicing, repairing, and maintaining of its owned fleet of natural gas compression equipment to provide natural gas compression services.