Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,897 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,206 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in APA were worth $939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in APA by 4.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,535,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,555 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 10.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,367,570 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in APA by 131.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,704,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in APA by 15.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,358,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,865,000 after acquiring an additional 455,312 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $25.07 on Friday. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $22.72 and a twelve month high of $43.58. The stock has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 3.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.39 and a 200 day moving average of $30.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 32.66%. 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 business posted $0.85 earnings per share. APA’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APA. Truist Financial lifted their target price on APA from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on APA from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.38.

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.