Swiss National Bank Reduces Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 961,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in APA were worth $34,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in APA by 16.2% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 64,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,647,000 after purchasing an additional 9,001 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in APA during the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in APA by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 43,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its stake in APA by 4.3% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 56,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of APA by 13.9% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 853,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,069,000 after purchasing an additional 103,846 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Price Performance

APA opened at $30.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 3.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.91. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.90 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.12). APA had a return on equity of 45.32% and a net margin of 34.04%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 11.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APA. Truist Financial reduced their target price on APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on APA from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Roth Mkm increased their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of APA in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.20.

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.