GAMMA Investing LLC Has $5.64 Million Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 3,303.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 268,194 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 260,313 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.07% of APA worth $5,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $277,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,721,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 459.8% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 43,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,612,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of APA stock opened at $18.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $16.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.25. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $13.58 and a 12-month high of $33.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.37%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on APA. Scotiabank lowered their target price on APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.21.

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.