APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Short Interest Down 7.4% in January

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,260,000 shares, a decrease of 7.4% from the December 31st total of 24,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 6.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on APA shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.65.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.93. 14,807,480 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,672,026. APA has a 12-month low of $20.32 and a 12-month high of $36.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.12. The stock has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 3.16.

APA Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.12%.

Insider Transactions at APA

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Woodstock Corp increased its stake in shares of APA by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,540,000 after acquiring an additional 51,993 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after buying an additional 485,291 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter worth $7,238,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,261,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,852,000 after purchasing an additional 149,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter worth about $757,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% 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.