APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 511 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of APA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of APA by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on APA shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.70.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $20.03 on Tuesday. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $17.66 and a 12-month high of $36.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 3.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.23.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

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.