Ieq Capital LLC Grows Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 104.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,609 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 24,819 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $1,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APA. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in APA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in APA by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 31,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of APA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of APA by 48.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $22.87 on Tuesday. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $20.32 and a 52 week high of $36.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 3.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.19. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 14.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on APA. Raymond James raised their target price on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.65.

APA 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.