APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Holdings Boosted by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 531.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 674,298 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 567,572 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned 0.18% of APA worth $15,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in APA by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540,055 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of APA by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,166,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,035,000 after purchasing an additional 528,159 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in APA by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,352 shares of the company's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 4,225 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in APA by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 608,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,048,000 after buying an additional 44,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in APA by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 108,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 35,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on APA shares. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price target on APA and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna lowered their target price on APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.79.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $16.26. The stock had a trading volume of 6,876,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,848,237. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $18.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 2.74. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $33.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.