Stephens Inc. AR Has $741,000 Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 53.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,092 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,037 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in APA were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in APA by 84.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in APA by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in APA by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in APA by 48.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its holdings in APA by 355.0% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of APA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

APA Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $22.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 3.15. APA Co. has a one year low of $20.32 and a one year high of $36.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. APA’s payout ratio is presently 14.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on APA. Bernstein Bank lowered their price target on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.65.

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.