APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Short Interest Update

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,960,000 shares, an increase of 12.1% from the January 15th total of 24,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 7.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APA. Harris Associates L P increased its holdings in APA by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,414,000 after buying an additional 4,293,932 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in APA by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,341,000 after buying an additional 3,411,270 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in APA by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,823,000 after buying an additional 1,540,055 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,767,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 3,450.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 985,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,115,000 after purchasing an additional 958,141 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

APA Price Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $23.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. APA has a 52 week low of $20.32 and a 52 week high of $36.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 3.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.49.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.65.

APA Company 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.