abrdn plc Grows Stock Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

abrdn plc grew its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 48.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,311 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,317 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in APA were worth $2,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in APA by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,077 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp grew its position in shares of APA by 20.3% in the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,540,000 after purchasing an additional 51,993 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 4.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after acquiring an additional 485,291 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its holdings in APA by 175.8% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in APA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,238,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the subject of several research reports. Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.65.

APA Stock Up 0.1 %

APA stock opened at $21.67 on Monday. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $20.32 and a twelve month high of $36.04. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 3.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

APA Company Profile

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.