Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Shares Up 6.4% – Still a Buy?

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) traded up 6.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.16 and last traded at $24.17. 752,248 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 1,383,906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AROC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Archrock from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Archrock from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.17.

Archrock Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. This is an increase from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Archrock’s payout ratio is presently 73.08%.

Institutional Trading of Archrock

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AROC. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Archrock by 124.2% in the 3rd 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Archrock by 94.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 422,383 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,549,000 after acquiring an additional 205,241 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Archrock during the third quarter worth approximately $314,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Archrock during the 3rd quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Archrock by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 916,945 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $22,823,000 after purchasing an additional 63,650 shares during the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archrock Company 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.