Verity Asset Management Inc. Invests $286,000 in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Verity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Woodstock Corp boosted its stake in shares of APA by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,540,000 after acquiring an additional 51,993 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,312,000 after buying an additional 485,291 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,238,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,261,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,852,000 after buying an additional 149,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at $757,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on APA shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bernstein Bank decreased their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.65.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $22.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 3.15. APA Co. has a 12 month low of $20.32 and a 12 month high of $36.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.80 and its 200 day moving average is $24.88. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. APA’s payout ratio is 14.12%.

Insider Activity at APA

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.