Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 188,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 498 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in APA were worth $4,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 12,077 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in APA by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its position in APA by 175.8% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in APA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,238,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $757,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James cut shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 price objective on shares of APA and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.25.

APA Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:APA opened at $21.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 3.26. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.66 and a fifty-two week high of $36.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.87.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. Analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

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.