Caxton Associates LLP Sells 102,660 Shares of Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Caxton Associates LLP reduced its stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) by 59.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,102 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 102,660 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in Archrock were worth $2,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AROC. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Archrock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,144,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Archrock by 9,756.7% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,293,002 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,644,000 after buying an additional 1,279,884 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Archrock during the 4th quarter valued at $32,904,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Archrock during the 4th quarter valued at $18,721,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Archrock during the 2nd quarter valued at $16,027,000. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Archrock Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of Archrock stock opened at $36.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Archrock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.17 and a 12-month high of $42.23. The company has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.77.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $373.77 million during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This is an increase from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Archrock’s payout ratio is currently 47.83%.

Insider Activity

In other Archrock news, CFO Doug S. Aron sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total value of $1,340,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 359,337 shares in the company, valued at $13,762,607.10. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 33,000 shares of Archrock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,595,968.26. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 158,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,907,370 over the last 90 days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AROC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Archrock from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Archrock from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Archrock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Archrock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Archrock from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.71.

Archrock Profile

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.