New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Invests $1.86 Million in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 80,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in APA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 84.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in APA by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in APA by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their price target on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.25.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $20.92 on Monday. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $17.66 and a 1 year high of $36.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.58 and its 200 day moving average is $22.90. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 3.26. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders 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 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 44.25%.

About APA

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.