13,000 Shares in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Purchased by Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 13,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in APA by 131.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,704,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,041 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in shares of APA by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 15,705,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,520,000 after buying an additional 2,367,570 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 4.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004,555 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in APA by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $728,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP acquired a new position in APA in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,593,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APA. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Mizuho cut their price target on APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.38.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $25.11 on Thursday. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $22.72 and a twelve month high of $43.58. The company has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 3.24. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.19.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.19%.

APA Company 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.