Wall Street Analysts See Archrock Inc. (AROC) as a Buy: Should You Invest?

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the reliability of brokerage recommendations, particularly focusing on Archrock Inc. (AROC), and highlights the potential misalignment of interests between brokerage analysts and retail investors [1][10]. Brokerage Recommendations - Archrock Inc. has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.67, indicating a consensus between Strong Buy and Buy, with five Strong Buy and two Buy recommendations from nine brokerage firms [2][5]. - The distribution of recommendations shows that Strong Buy and Buy account for 55.6% and 22.2% of all recommendations, respectively [2]. Limitations of Brokerage Recommendations - Studies indicate that brokerage recommendations have limited success in guiding investors towards stocks with the best price increase potential [5]. - Analysts from brokerage firms tend to exhibit a strong positive bias in their ratings, often issuing five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell" [6][10]. Zacks Rank as an Alternative - The Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock rating tool, categorizes stocks from Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank 5 (Strong Sell) and is based on earnings estimate revisions, which correlate strongly with near-term stock price movements [8][11]. - The Zacks Rank is updated more frequently than the ABR, making it a more timely indicator for predicting future stock prices [12]. Earnings Estimates for Archrock Inc. - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Archrock Inc. has increased by 4.5% over the past month to $1.57, reflecting analysts' growing optimism about the company's earnings prospects [13]. - This increase in consensus estimates has contributed to a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) for Archrock Inc., suggesting a favorable outlook for the stock [14].