APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Position Boosted by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 164.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,581 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $63,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 4.7% in 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 last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 18.5% during the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 48,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after buying an additional 7,580 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp raised its holdings in shares of APA by 20.3% during the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,540,000 after buying an additional 51,993 shares during the last quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,499,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 112.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,448,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,092,000 after buying an additional 767,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Up 0.7 %

APA stock opened at $23.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 3.23. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $22.72 and a 1 year high of $40.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.47.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that APA Co. will post 3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna cut their price target on APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on APA in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.18.

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.