Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 374,179 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,426 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.10% of APA worth $8,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of APA. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 456,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,176,000 after acquiring an additional 13,557 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 80,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 4,859 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 195,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,508,000 after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 364.7% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 39,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 30,697 shares during the period. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth about $351,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Down 1.0%

APA stock opened at $17.59 on Friday. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $13.58 and a twelve month high of $33.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.73.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.37.

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.