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

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,110,000 shares, a growth of 10.5% from the August 31st total of 3,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AROC. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Archrock during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $852,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Archrock by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,113,865 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $78,753,000 after buying an additional 1,399,309 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Archrock by 302.9% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 912,784 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $14,057,000 after purchasing an additional 686,242 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Archrock by 18.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,270,818 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $24,997,000 after purchasing an additional 195,549 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Archrock by 77.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 69,992 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after buying an additional 30,493 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Archrock Stock Performance

AROC traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, reaching $20.68. 1,264,579 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,482,398. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39 and a beta of 1.51. Archrock has a fifty-two week low of $11.73 and a fifty-two week high of $23.44.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The energy company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Archrock had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The company had revenue of $270.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.61 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Archrock will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Archrock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Archrock from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Archrock in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Archrock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

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.