Fisher Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,248,274 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 225,726 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.34% of APA worth $28,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 12.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,411,270 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P increased its position in shares of APA by 20.8% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,414,000 after acquiring an additional 4,293,932 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after acquiring an additional 485,291 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 3.5% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,667,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,466,000 after acquiring an additional 326,042 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,307,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,928,000 after acquiring an additional 224,547 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $20.70 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 3.15. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $19.84 and a twelve month high of $36.04. 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 50 day moving average of $22.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.98.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. As a group, analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APA. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.65.

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.