Jones Financial Companies Lllp Acquires 8,333 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 263.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,499 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,333 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in APA were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in APA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 31,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in APA by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ:APA opened at $19.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 3.26. 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 current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.45 and a 200 day moving average of $23.46.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on APA. Raymond James lowered APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.15.

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.