18,500 Shares in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 18,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,237,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,412,000 after buying an additional 38,505 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 726,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,053,000 after buying an additional 90,610 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,531,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,037,000 after buying an additional 24,182 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at $11,050,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $32.49 on Monday. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $29.47 and a 12-month high of $46.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 3.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that APA Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of APA from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $43.00) on shares of APA in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.25.

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.