Stephens Inc. AR Cuts Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 53.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,092 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,037 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in APA were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 84.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in APA by 77.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of APA by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,614 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of APA by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of APA by 355.0% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered APA from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.65.

APA Price Performance

APA stock traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $23.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,881,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,460,765. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company's 50 day moving average is $22.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.34. The stock has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 3.15. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $20.32 and a fifty-two week high of $36.04.

APA Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

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

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.