10,213 Shares in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Bought by Symmetry Investments LP

Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in APA by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,498,000 after acquiring an additional 850,052 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,540,000 after buying an additional 894,574 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,016,000 after acquiring an additional 200,770 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of APA by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of APA by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,500,000 after buying an additional 929,770 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $15.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 2.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. APA Co. has a one year low of $13.58 and a one year high of $33.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.31%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on APA shares. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James cut shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 target price on shares of APA and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.11.

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.