Ping Capital Management Inc. Makes New $231,000 Investment in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Ping Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 31,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in 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 period. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 1.0% in the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its position in APA by 48.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.65.

APA Stock Performance

APA opened at $22.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.88. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $20.32 and a 1 year high of $36.04. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.16 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.12%.

Insider Activity

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.