APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 83.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 723,376 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 328,213 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in APA were worth $16,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at $302,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in APA by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 265,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,120,000 after acquiring an additional 82,453 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in APA during the fourth quarter worth about $307,000. Swan Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in APA during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at about $431,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on APA shares. Raymond James downgraded APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.25.

APA Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ APA opened at $20.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 3.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. APA Co. has a one year low of $17.66 and a one year high of $36.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.92.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 44.25%.

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.