Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 615.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,902 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,657 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in APA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in APA by 84.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in APA by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in APA by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $14.03 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $13.73 and a twelve month high of $35.33. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 2.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.60 and its 200 day moving average is $22.51.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Research analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.13%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Susquehanna cut their target price on APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.68.

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.