Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Increases Stock Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 608,381 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,937 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in APA were worth $14,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in APA by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,500,000 after purchasing an additional 929,770 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of APA by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,540,000 after buying an additional 894,574 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,524,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in APA by 96.6% during the 4th quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 774,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,877,000 after acquiring an additional 380,510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $14.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.15. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $33.41. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 2.74.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. 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 6.72%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price objective on shares of APA and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.47.

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.