APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,093 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of APA worth $5,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in APA by 5,718.2% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in APA by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake 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 buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of APA by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.60.

APA Stock Up 3.2 %

APA stock opened at $20.81 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.15. The company has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 3.26. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $17.66 and a 12-month high of $36.05. 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 (NASDAQ:APA) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.25%.

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.