Aviva PLC Decreases Stock Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Aviva PLC lessened its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 54.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,507 shares of the company's stock after selling 280,185 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned 0.06% of APA worth $5,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in APA in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of APA in the fourth quarter worth about $2,617,000. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in APA in the 4th quarter worth about $695,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in APA by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in APA by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,016,000 after buying an additional 200,770 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 target price on APA and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.58.

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APA Trading Down 0.8 %

APA stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.07. 2,449,236 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,744,751. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $33.88. The company has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 2.74. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $19.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.20. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.63%. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.25%.

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.