DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Grows Stock Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 56.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,313 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,491 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in APA were worth $765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of APA by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,535,001,000 after buying an additional 2,004,555 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp lifted its stake in shares of APA by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 154,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,533,000 after purchasing an additional 27,513 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of APA by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,841,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,093,000 after purchasing an additional 345,192 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 48,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 7,580 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Susquehanna cut their target price on APA from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on APA from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.38.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $25.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $22.72 and a 52 week high of $43.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 3.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. APA’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is currently 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.