Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 86.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,915 shares of the company's stock after selling 152,981 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in APA were worth $552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APA. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of APA by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its position 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 during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 86.8% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on APA shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.80.

APA Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ APA traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $18.54. 14,014,160 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,072,458. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 3.26. APA Co. has a 12 month low of $17.66 and a 12 month high of $36.04. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.79.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.25%.

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.