Black Maple Capital Management LP Reduces Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Black Maple Capital Management LP lowered its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 81.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,530 shares of the company's stock after selling 128,300 shares during the period. Black Maple Capital Management LP's holdings in APA were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 154.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 62,400 shares of the company's stock worth $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 37,855 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of APA by 144.3% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 30,925 shares of the company's stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 18,268 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 456,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,176,000 after acquiring an additional 13,557 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in APA by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of APA by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 16,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on APA shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on APA from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.79.

APA Stock Up 1.5 %

APA stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.73. 7,387,337 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,838,164. The company has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.18. APA Co. has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $33.41. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $17.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.11.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. As a group, analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

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.