Altshuler Shaham Ltd Buys Shares of 1,232 APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APA. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in APA in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in APA by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Tobam purchased a new stake in APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho cut their price target on APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on APA in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.20.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $30.51. 5,897,410 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,877,792. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 3.29. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.90 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.80.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 45.32% and a net margin of 34.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that APA Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid 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 3.28%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.