Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 8,698 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 3.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 231,192 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,698 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $5,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,555 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in APA by 131.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,704,000 after buying an additional 2,736,041 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in APA by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,358,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,865,000 after buying an additional 455,312 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in APA by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,757,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,193,000 after buying an additional 129,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in APA by 1.1% during the second quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,451,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,730,000 after acquiring an additional 16,287 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $24.82 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 3.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.65. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.72 and a fifty-two week high of $40.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that APA Co. will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on APA in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of APA from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lowered their target price 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. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of APA from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.18.

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.