Larson Financial Group LLC Boosts Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 37.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,064 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of APA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 31,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $19.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 3.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.49. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $17.66 and a 1 year high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. On average, equities research analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.21%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on APA. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, APA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.15.

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.