APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Short Interest Update

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,260,000 shares, a decrease of 7.4% from the December 15th total of 24,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 6.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APA. Bernstein Bank reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.55.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $24.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.54. APA has a twelve month low of $20.32 and a twelve month high of $36.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.12%.

Insider Activity

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APA. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in APA by 48.8% in 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. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in APA by 355.0% in 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of APA by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

About APA

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.