A&I Financial Services LLC Invests $389,000 in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

A&I Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 16,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in APA. Harris Associates L P grew its position in APA by 20.8% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,414,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293,932 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in APA by 12.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,270 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in APA by 3,450.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 985,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,115,000 after purchasing an additional 958,141 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in APA by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,500,000 after purchasing an additional 929,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in APA by 17.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,102,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,351,000 after purchasing an additional 600,612 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at APA

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on APA shares. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.65.

APA Price Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $20.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 3.15. APA Co. has a one year low of $20.09 and a one year high of $36.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. Analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is currently 14.12%.

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.