New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 80,743 APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 80,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,864,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,077 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in APA by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its stake in APA by 175.8% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company's stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 14,980 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new position in APA in the third quarter worth approximately $7,238,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in APA in the third quarter valued at approximately $757,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of APA from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.68.

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APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA traded down $2.56 on Friday, reaching $15.18. 19,921,606 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,535,541. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 2.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.75. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $14.87 and a 52 week high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA's payout ratio is 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.