APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Bought by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 360,853 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,300 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in APA were worth $12,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in APA during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in APA by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in APA during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ APA traded down $0.34 on Tuesday, hitting $32.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,574,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,790,801. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $29.47 and a 52-week high of $46.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $32.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 3.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. APA’s payout ratio is 10.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APA. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on APA from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Johnson Rice downgraded APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.10.

About APA

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.