APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Bought by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 187.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,949 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,199 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in APA by 53.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 102,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after buying an additional 35,716 shares during the period. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,005,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 16,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,798 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in shares of APA by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 58,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 8,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on APA shares. Raymond James lowered APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho decreased their price target on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.60.

APA Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $20.61 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $17.66 and a 52-week high of $36.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.06. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 3.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). The company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 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.