Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,620,489 shares of the company’s stock after selling 274,880 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.13% of APA worth $1,122,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,077 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of APA by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in shares of APA by 175.8% in the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in APA during the third quarter worth about $7,238,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in APA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APA. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 price objective on APA and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.25.

APA Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $20.92 on Friday. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.92. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 3.26. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $17.66 and a 12-month high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.25%.

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.