APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 40.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,457 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of APA by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,719,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,714,656,000 after buying an additional 2,003,862 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in APA by 130.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,534,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,037,000 after purchasing an additional 867,257 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 1,527.3% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 921,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,880,000 after purchasing an additional 865,026 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of APA by 8,888.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 549,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,587,000 after buying an additional 543,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 5,967.2% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 389,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,007,000 after buying an additional 383,036 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on APA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.25.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $32.05 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.52. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $29.47 and a 52 week high of $46.15. The stock has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 62.64%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.78%.

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.