Investors Research Corp Grows Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Investors Research Corp increased its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 1,532.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,436 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,204 shares during the quarter. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in APA were worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in APA by 12.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P grew its holdings in APA by 20.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,540,000 after buying an additional 894,574 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,667,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,466,000 after buying an additional 326,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in APA by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,307,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,928,000 after buying an additional 224,547 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at APA

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.80.

APA Trading Up 0.5 %

APA stock opened at $18.84 on Monday. 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 $17.66 and a 12 month high of $36.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.62. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 3.26.

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). APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio 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.