APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Acquired by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 15.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,150 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in APA by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 41,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in APA by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 305,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,968,000 after acquiring an additional 115,876 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in APA by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in APA by 106.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 299,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,728,000 after purchasing an additional 154,232 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of APA by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 41,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of APA from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of APA from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.38.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $25.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 3.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.01. APA Co. has a 12 month low of $22.72 and a 12 month high of $43.58.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.