150,710 Shares in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Purchased by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 150,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,486,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APA. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in APA by 84.1% during the 3rd 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. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in APA by 5,718.2% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in APA by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in APA by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in APA by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.80.

APA Stock Performance

APA opened at $18.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 3.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $22.67 and its 200 day moving average is $23.65. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $17.66 and a 12-month high of $36.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 44.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.