Meritage Portfolio Management Cuts Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 58.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 136,321 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189,136 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in APA were worth $4,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in APA during the third quarter valued at about $256,000. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in APA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $128,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in APA by 98.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 29,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 14,535 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of APA by 47.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 53,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 17,161 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of APA stock traded up $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $32.36. 7,049,854 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,838,846. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. APA Co. has a one year low of $29.47 and a one year high of $46.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. APA’s revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 10.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on APA. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $43.00) on shares of APA in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays began coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.25.

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.