APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Position Lowered by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management reduced its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,732,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 96,066 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in APA were worth $98,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 64,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,647,000 after purchasing an additional 9,001 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the third quarter valued at $225,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of APA by 4.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 643,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,428,000 after acquiring an additional 28,102 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in APA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,073,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on APA from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna raised their price target on APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on APA from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.05.

APA Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.26. 9,600,753 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,374,839. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. APA Co. has a 1-year low of $28.90 and a 1-year high of $46.15. The firm has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 3.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.12). APA had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 45.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

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.