Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 62,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,442,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in APA by 84.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of APA by 77.9% in the fourth 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 period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of APA by 93.5% in the fourth 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 period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of APA by 48.8% in the third 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 period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 86.8% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on APA shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.80.

Insider Activity

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Up 1.1 %

APA stock opened at $18.75 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. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $17.66 and a twelve month high of $36.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $22.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.75. The stock has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 3.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. Research analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.33%. APA’s payout ratio is 44.25%.

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.