Verity Asset Management Inc. Invests $286,000 in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Verity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in APA by 84.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in APA by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in APA by 48.8% during the third 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. Eastern Bank lifted its position in APA by 355.0% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in APA by 164.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bernstein Bank cut their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.65.

APA Stock Up 4.3 %

APA stock opened at $22.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 3.15. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.80 and its 200 day moving average is $24.88. APA Co. has a one year low of $20.32 and a one year high of $36.04.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.12%.

Insider Activity at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.