Ellis Investment Partners LLC Acquires 20,871 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 24.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 105,740 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,871 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $2,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of APA by 75.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 1,325.0% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in APA in the 2nd quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on APA. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of APA from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of APA from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.18.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.82. 4,566,828 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,173,208. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 3.23. APA Co. has a 12 month low of $22.72 and a 12 month high of $40.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that APA Co. will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

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.