S.A. Mason LLC Grows Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

S.A. Mason LLC grew its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,675 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in APA by 70.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after buying an additional 26,260 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in APA by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 46,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 44.0% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 38,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after buying an additional 11,827 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of APA by 160.1% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 75,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,225,000 after acquiring an additional 46,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in APA in the second quarter worth about $308,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

APA Stock Down 4.6 %

APA stock opened at $21.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 3.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.02. APA Co. has a 12 month low of $20.32 and a 12 month high of $36.04.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on APA shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bernstein Bank cut their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho dropped their target price on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.65.

Insider Transactions at APA

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

APA Company 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.