Peterson Wealth Services Acquires New Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Peterson Wealth Services purchased a new position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 31,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,122,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its stake in APA by 228.6% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of APA by 117.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 808 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of APA stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.53. 1,100,214 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,863,140. The firm has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 3.27. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $29.47 and a 1 year high of $46.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $32.28 and a 200 day moving average of $34.73.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. Analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APA. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.80.

About APA

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.