Courier Capital LLC Trims Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Courier Capital LLC cut its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,555 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,345 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $1,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of APA by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in APA by 1.6% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 31,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of APA by 16.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 1.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 46,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on APA. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.55.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $24.38 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.61. The stock has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 3.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA Co. has a 12 month low of $20.32 and a 12 month high of $36.04.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 14.12%.

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.