California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 25,403 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 572,539 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,403 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in APA were worth $20,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in APA by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 360,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,947,000 after acquiring an additional 29,300 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of APA by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 41,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of APA by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc increased its stake in shares of APA by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 129,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 54,456 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of APA opened at $32.49 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.50 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.47 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.39.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. The company’s revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APA. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays began coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of APA from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.25.

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.