Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) saw a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,020,000 shares, a growth of 8.7% from the October 31st total of 5,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Archrock Stock Performance

Shares of AROC stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.53. 461,315 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,421,314. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.26. Archrock has a 12-month low of $14.14 and a 12-month high of $26.36.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The energy company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Archrock had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business had revenue of $292.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $286.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Archrock will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a $0.175 dividend. This is a boost from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Archrock’s payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Archrock by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 84,245 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,658,000 after buying an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Archrock by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Archrock by 382.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,591 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 2,846 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Archrock by 2,740.8% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 191,898 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 185,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Archrock by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,373 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Archrock from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Archrock from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Archrock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Archrock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.17.

About Archrock

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.