Viking Fund Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 50,000 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,312,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 38,313 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $954,000 after buying an additional 5,665 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 124.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 302,610 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,125,000 after buying an additional 167,648 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archrock during the fourth quarter valued at $242,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,358,092 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $58,693,000 after buying an additional 34,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Archrock by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 916,945 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $22,823,000 after acquiring an additional 63,650 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AROC shares. Sidoti raised Archrock to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on Archrock from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Archrock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.67.

Insider Activity at Archrock

In related news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 42,036 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total transaction of $1,029,461.64. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 275,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,757,060.39. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Archrock Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE AROC opened at $25.49 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Archrock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.27 and a 52 week high of $30.44. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.19.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. Archrock had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $347.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.98 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.41%.

Archrock announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to reacquire up to 1.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.