National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 67,788 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 50.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202,962 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 67,788 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.05% of APA worth $4,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,411,270 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,414,000 after buying an additional 4,293,932 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in APA by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,312,000 after buying an additional 485,291 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in APA by 3.5% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,667,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,466,000 after buying an additional 326,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in APA by 131.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,704,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736,041 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

APA Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of APA opened at $22.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. APA Co. has a 1-year low of $20.95 and a 1-year high of $37.82. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 3.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.65.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of APA stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APA shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of APA from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.52.

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.