APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Acquired by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 73.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 807,142 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 342,698 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.22% of APA worth $18,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 28,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 5,842 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in APA by 3.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,394,000 after buying an additional 9,033 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in APA during the third quarter worth about $231,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in APA by 8.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group cut their price target on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 target price on shares of APA and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.68.

APA Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of APA opened at $21.24 on Thursday. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $17.66 and a twelve month high of $36.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 2.73. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.85.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.