APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 112,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,300 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $3,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank grew its holdings in APA by 208.5% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in APA by 75.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of APA stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,493,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,692,342. APA Co. has a 1-year low of $27.17 and a 1-year high of $46.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.49, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 3.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.03.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 45.32% and a net margin of 34.04%. The company’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is presently 11.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on APA in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.86.

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.