Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 564,898 shares of the company’s stock after selling 86,779 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in APA were worth $20,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in APA by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,719,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,714,656,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003,862 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in APA by 130.0% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,534,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,037,000 after purchasing an additional 867,257 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in APA by 1,527.3% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 921,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,880,000 after purchasing an additional 865,026 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its position in APA by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,235,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,866,000 after purchasing an additional 626,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 8,888.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 549,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,587,000 after buying an additional 543,438 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

APA Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $32.72 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $29.47 and a twelve month high of $46.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.57 and a 200 day moving average of $34.35. The stock has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 3.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 62.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on APA. Mizuho dropped their target price on APA from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.25.

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.