Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 59,121 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 757,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,121 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $27,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in APA by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of APA by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,237,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,412,000 after buying an additional 38,505 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter worth about $95,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of APA by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 726,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,053,000 after acquiring an additional 90,610 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 1.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,531,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,037,000 after acquiring an additional 24,182 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on APA from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.20.

APA Stock Up 1.1 %

APA stock opened at $30.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 3.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.91. APA Co. has a 1-year low of $28.90 and a 1-year high of $46.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 45.32%. APA’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that APA Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. APA’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

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.