APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Purchased by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 25.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,652 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,025 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in APA were worth $1,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in APA by 25.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 28,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 5,842 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of APA by 5.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 359,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,816,000 after acquiring an additional 18,332 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of 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 shares of APA during the third quarter worth approximately $231,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of APA by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $20.92 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 3.26. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $17.66 and a 52-week high of $36.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.90.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho cut their target price on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.25.

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.