Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $22.35 Million Stock Position in Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 849,372 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 26,970 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Archrock were worth $22,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AROC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Archrock by 164.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,082 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Archrock during the third quarter worth $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Archrock by 217.9% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,316 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Archrock by 49.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco bought a new stake in Archrock during the second quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Archrock Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of NYSE:AROC opened at $32.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.56. Archrock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.12 and a 52-week high of $32.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.17. The firm has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.93.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Archrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Archrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore lifted their price objective on Archrock from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Archrock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Archrock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Archrock from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archrock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.40.

Insider Transactions at Archrock

In other Archrock news, SVP Eric W. Thode sold 40,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $1,022,574.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 184,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,821.60. The trade was a 18.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

About Archrock

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.