Cetera Investment Advisers Has $1.38 Million Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,639 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,337 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in APA were worth $1,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of APA by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company's stock worth $142,823,000 after buying an additional 1,540,055 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in APA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,767,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of APA by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company's stock worth $94,500,000 after purchasing an additional 929,770 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in APA by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,540,000 after buying an additional 894,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in APA by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company's stock worth $305,498,000 after purchasing an additional 850,052 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on APA shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of APA from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.58.

APA Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of APA traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $17.31. 4,523,537 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,008,237. 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 company has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's 50 day moving average is $17.09 and its 200-day moving average is $20.41. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $33.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 company earned $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.97%.

About APA

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.