Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $1.44 Million in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 62,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,442,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APA. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in APA by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $745,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,270 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P grew its position in shares of APA by 20.8% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company's stock worth $609,414,000 after buying an additional 4,293,932 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of APA by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company's stock worth $297,540,000 after buying an additional 894,574 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in APA by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,307,186 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,928,000 after acquiring an additional 224,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in APA by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,102,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,351,000 after acquiring an additional 600,612 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered APA from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price target on APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.60.

APA Trading Up 1.1 %

APA stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.84. 4,674,262 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,474,876. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.97 and its 200-day moving average is $23.04. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 3.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $17.66 and a 52-week high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. APA's dividend payout ratio is 44.25%.

APA 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.