State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $1.08 Million Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,755 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,766 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in APA were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of APA by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in APA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in APA by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in APA by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in APA by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 10,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank decreased their target price on APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.79.

APA Stock Up 4.4 %

APA stock opened at $16.22 on Friday. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $13.58 and a twelve month high of $33.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.14 and its 200-day moving average is $21.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 2.74.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. Sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued 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 yield of 6.17%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.25%.

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.