California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 587,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,466 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.16% of APA worth $13,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,500,000 after acquiring an additional 929,770 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,540,000 after purchasing an additional 894,574 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in APA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,524,000. South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in APA by 96.6% during the 4th quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 774,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,877,000 after buying an additional 380,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter valued at $8,282,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.68.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $15.18 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.74. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $14.86 and a 52-week high of $36.05. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 2.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date 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.