Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,886,087 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 894,574 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 3.48% of APA worth $297,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $745,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,270 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P raised its stake in shares of APA by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $609,414,000 after acquiring an additional 4,293,932 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,667,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,466,000 after acquiring an additional 326,042 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in APA by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,307,186 shares of the company's stock worth $226,928,000 after purchasing an additional 224,547 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in APA by 17.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 600,612 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

APA Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $18.54 on Thursday. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $17.66 and a twelve month high of $36.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.62 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. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $22.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.79.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. APA's payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.80.

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.

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