Commerce Bank Lowers Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Commerce Bank trimmed its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 52.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,890 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,503 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in APA were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in APA by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,500,000 after buying an additional 929,770 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of APA by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,540,000 after acquiring an additional 894,574 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of APA by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,498,000 after purchasing an additional 850,052 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in APA in the 4th quarter worth about $14,524,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council boosted its position in APA by 96.6% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 774,245 shares of the company's stock worth $17,877,000 after purchasing an additional 380,510 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on APA shares. Raymond James downgraded APA from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of APA from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of APA from $25.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.79.

APA Trading Down 4.3 %

APA stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $15.54. 8,145,134 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,857,049. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 2.74. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $18.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.39. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $33.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.44%. 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.