S.A. Mason LLC Acquires New Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

S.A. Mason LLC bought a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 7,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $173,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,555 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 18.5% during the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 48,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 7,580 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp increased its stake in APA by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,540,000 after buying an additional 51,993 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in APA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,499,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in APA by 112.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,448,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,092,000 after buying an additional 767,557 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $23.47 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 3.23. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $22.72 and a 1 year 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on APA shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on APA from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on APA from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.18.

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.