APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Purchased by Rothschild Investment LLC

Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 86.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,087 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $48,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in APA by 22.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in APA by 4.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,312,000 after acquiring an additional 485,291 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its position in APA by 175.8% in 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. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in APA in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,238,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in APA by 13.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,261,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,852,000 after acquiring an additional 149,762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on APA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group lowered 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.65.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA opened at $22.01 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.13. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $20.32 and a 12-month high of $36.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 3.15. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 14.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently 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.