Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Acquires 2,098 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 58.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,713 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APA. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 84.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in APA by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in APA by 355.0% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in APA by 164.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James upped their target price on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.65.

APA Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $21.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $20.32 and a fifty-two week high of $36.04. The company has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 3.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.07.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.12%.

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.