Archrock, Inc. $AROC Shares Acquired by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,502,235 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 152,360 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Archrock were worth $87,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Archrock by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,719,020 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $226,869,000 after acquiring an additional 457,569 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Archrock by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,018,889 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $182,631,000 after purchasing an additional 152,312 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Archrock by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,833,290 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $177,805,000 after purchasing an additional 111,218 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Archrock by 3.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,077,999 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $159,912,000 after purchasing an additional 191,914 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Archrock by 3.5% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,499,093 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $144,681,000 after purchasing an additional 187,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Archrock

In other Archrock news, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 98,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 33,000 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $1,260,270.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 277,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,595,968.26. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 327,550 shares of company stock worth $11,861,703 in the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Archrock Price Performance

NYSE:AROC opened at $36.92 on Monday. Archrock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.17 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.58.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $373.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.36 million. Archrock had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 21.45%.The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AROC shares. Dawson James restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research cut Archrock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Archrock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $41.14.

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.