APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 143,450 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in APA were worth $3,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in APA by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,498,000 after buying an additional 850,052 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of APA by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,540,000 after purchasing an additional 894,574 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of APA by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,016,000 after purchasing an additional 200,770 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of APA by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of APA by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,500,000 after purchasing an additional 929,770 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APA has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Raymond James lowered shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.37.

APA Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of APA opened at $18.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $17.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.81. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $33.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. APA’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

About APA

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.