APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Holdings Cut by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank lessened its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 52.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,890 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,503 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in APA were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in APA by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,016,000 after buying an additional 200,770 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 12,077 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of APA by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in shares of APA by 175.8% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the third quarter worth $757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $16.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 2.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.68. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $33.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced 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 company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders 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 6.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 44.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on APA shares. 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 note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.79.

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.