KLCM Advisors Inc. Purchases 115,249 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 696,024 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,249 shares during the quarter. APA accounts for 1.9% of KLCM Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. KLCM Advisors Inc. owned 0.19% of APA worth $16,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APA. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in APA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 1.6% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 31,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in APA by 1.0% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in APA by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial cut their target price on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

APA Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:APA opened at $23.14 on Monday. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $20.32 and a 1 year high of $36.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.40. 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 company has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 3.15.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.12%.

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.