Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 318.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,365 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 102,978 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $2,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of APA by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,498,000 after acquiring an additional 850,052 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,540,000 after purchasing an additional 894,574 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,016,000 after purchasing an additional 200,770 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,297,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,212 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $19.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $13.58 and a 1 year high of $33.41. The company has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.11.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on APA shares. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank reduced their price target on APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.21.

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.