Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) Short Interest Update

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,070,000 shares, an increase of 9.0% from the November 30th total of 5,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Archrock from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho started coverage on Archrock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Archrock from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Citigroup began 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.17.

Archrock Price Performance

AROC stock remained flat at $24.89 during midday trading on Wednesday. The company had a trading volume of 993,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,419,444. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.57. Archrock has a twelve month low of $14.39 and a twelve month high of $27.05. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.35 and a beta of 1.59. 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 (NYSE:AROC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The energy company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Archrock had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The company had revenue of $292.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $286.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. Archrock’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Archrock will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This is an increase from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock during the third quarter worth $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Archrock in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in Archrock by 5,621.6% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Archrock during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Archrock in the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

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.