Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) Short Interest Up 8.7% in November

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) was the target of a large 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 trading volume, of 1,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Archrock Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE AROC traded up $0.53 on Tuesday, reaching $25.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,278,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,517. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Archrock has a 1 year low of $14.14 and a 1 year high of $26.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.19 and a 200-day moving average of $20.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48 and a beta of 1.59.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The energy company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Archrock had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 13.34%. The business 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. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Archrock will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. This is a boost from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AROC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Archrock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Mizuho started coverage on Archrock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Archrock from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Archrock from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Archrock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Archrock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.17.

Institutional Trading of Archrock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Archrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Archrock in the third quarter worth $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Archrock during the third quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Archrock in the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.