APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Sold by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 224,092 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,355 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $5,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 12.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,341,000 after buying an additional 3,411,270 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P raised its position in shares of APA by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,414,000 after acquiring an additional 4,293,932 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in APA by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,540,000 after purchasing an additional 894,574 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,307,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,928,000 after purchasing an additional 224,547 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in APA by 17.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,102,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,351,000 after purchasing an additional 600,612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APA. 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.25.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $20.92 on Friday. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $17.66 and a 1 year high of $36.05. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.92. The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 3.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

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.