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

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in APA by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 456,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,176,000 after purchasing an additional 13,557 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter worth $281,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 75,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,851,000 after buying an additional 9,081 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its holdings in APA by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 61,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Up 2.1 %

APA opened at $20.03 on Tuesday. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $17.66 and a 1 year high of $36.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.23. 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 company has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 3.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. Sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Raymond James downgraded APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.70.

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.