Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $142.82 Million Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 33.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,186,244 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,540,055 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.67% of APA worth $142,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in 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 valued at $94,500,000 after buying an additional 929,770 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of APA by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,540,000 after acquiring an additional 894,574 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of APA by 6.9% during the 4th 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of APA during the 4th quarter valued at $14,524,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of APA by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,166,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,035,000 after acquiring an additional 528,159 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on APA from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.79.

APA Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ APA traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.24. The stock had a trading volume of 5,755,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,839,792. The firm has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 2.74. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $13.58 and a twelve month high of $33.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $18.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.47.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. 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 6.16%. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.25%.

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.