Woodstock Corp Sells 65,910 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Woodstock Corp trimmed its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 242,343 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,910 shares during the quarter. Woodstock Corp owned 0.07% of APA worth $5,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in APA by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,414,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293,932 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 12.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,341,000 after buying an additional 3,411,270 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of APA by 131.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,704,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736,041 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 3,450.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 985,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,115,000 after acquiring an additional 958,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 112.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,448,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,092,000 after acquiring an additional 767,557 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on APA. Citigroup dropped their target price on APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.55.

APA Trading Down 1.2 %

APA opened at $25.15 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.58. APA Co. has a 1-year low of $20.32 and a 1-year high of $36.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 3.16.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 14.12%.

Insider Transactions at APA

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.