Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 24,648 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 50.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,921 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,648 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in APA were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of APA by 93.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,077 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $378,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in APA by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,713 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in APA by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 22,831 shares of the company's stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 5,928 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of APA stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.85. 6,820,074 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,018,209. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.48. APA Co. has a 1-year low of $13.58 and a 1-year high of $33.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.18.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. APA's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.93%. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on APA shares. Scotiabank lowered 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. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.58.

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.