American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 596,599 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 82,179 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.16% of APA worth $17,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank boosted its holdings in APA by 208.5% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 725 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in APA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in APA by 75.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 386.7% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the second quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APA. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on APA from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of APA from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.38.

APA Price Performance

NASDAQ:APA traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.07. 8,764,029 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,257,404. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 3.24. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $22.72 and a twelve month high of $43.58. The stock's 50-day moving average is $28.29 and its 200-day moving average is $30.09.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.19%.

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.