Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 55,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,284,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 52,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of APA by 18.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,641 shares of the company's stock worth $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 11,964 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 12.2% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 456,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,176,000 after purchasing an additional 13,557 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in APA by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 55,480 shares of the company's stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 7,087 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on APA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut APA from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Raymond James lowered APA from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.90.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock traded down $0.61 on Thursday, reaching $19.04. The stock had a trading volume of 5,574,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,525,635. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $22.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.46. The stock has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 3.26. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.66 and a fifty-two week high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released 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 for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.