Cerity Partners LLC Takes $383,000 Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in APA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Tobam bought a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in APA during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in APA by 122.9% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

APA Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $32.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.55 and a 200 day moving average of $34.46. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $29.47 and a 12-month high of $46.15. The stock has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 3.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 62.64%. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that APA Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna upped their price target on APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of APA from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on APA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.25.

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.