Sterneck Capital Management LLC Has $233,000 Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Sterneck Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 10.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,126 shares during the period. Sterneck Capital Management LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,535,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,555 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in APA by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938,335 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in APA by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 15,705,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,520,000 after buying an additional 2,367,570 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of APA by 131.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,704,000 after buying an additional 2,736,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of APA by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,358,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,865,000 after buying an additional 455,312 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA opened at $26.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 3.24. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $22.72 and a 52-week high of $43.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.72.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Mizuho decreased their target price on APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of APA from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, APA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.19.

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.