Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 662 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,528 shares of the company’s stock after selling 662 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in APA by 1,087.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of APA by 5,718.2% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of APA by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in APA by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on APA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James lowered shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.21.

APA Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $16.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA Co. has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $33.41. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. On average, research analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.25%.

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.