Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $14.52 Million Investment in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 629,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,524,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.17% of APA as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APA. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in APA during the 3rd quarter valued at $214,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 23.0% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185 shares in the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the third quarter worth about $757,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 154.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 62,400 shares of the company's stock worth $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 37,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in APA by 144.3% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 30,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 18,268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on APA from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price target on shares of APA and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.79.

APA Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of APA traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $16.26. The stock had a trading volume of 6,877,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,848,246. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $33.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.75. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 2.74.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. 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.