State of Michigan Retirement System Has $3.13 Million Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,373 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in APA were worth $3,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of APA by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,077 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in APA by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after buying an additional 485,291 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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 acquiring an additional 14,980 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in APA in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,238,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of APA by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,261,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,852,000 after acquiring an additional 149,762 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $18.84 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.75. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $17.66 and a 1 year high of $36.04. The firm has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 3.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price target on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of APA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

APA 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.