Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Trims Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 190,192 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,480 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in APA were worth $4,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of APA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in APA by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,077 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after acquiring an additional 485,291 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its stake in APA by 175.8% during the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 14,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in APA in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on APA. Raymond James downgraded shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.90.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $19.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.37. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $17.66 and a 52 week high of $36.05. The company has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 3.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. As a group, analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

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.