Bernzott Capital Advisors Sells 41,105 Shares of Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Bernzott Capital Advisors trimmed its stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) by 14.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 249,515 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 41,105 shares during the period. Archrock comprises about 4.2% of Bernzott Capital Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Bernzott Capital Advisors’ holdings in Archrock were worth $8,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AROC. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 1.7% during the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 18,744 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Financial Security Advisor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Archrock by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 12,000 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Archrock by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,290 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Severin Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Archrock by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 20,111 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Archrock by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 971 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Archrock

In related news, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 90,000 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total value of $3,306,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 394,337 shares in the company, valued at $14,487,941.38. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 33,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $1,260,270.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 277,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,595,968.26. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 158,000 shares of company stock worth $5,907,370 in the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Archrock Stock Performance

Shares of Archrock stock opened at $38.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.92. Archrock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.17 and a fifty-two week high of $42.23.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.05). Archrock had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 21.45%.The firm had revenue of $373.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $378.36 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Archrock’s payout ratio is presently 47.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AROC. Stifel Nicolaus set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Archrock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Archrock from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Archrock from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Archrock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.