Madison Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 358,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,282,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 84.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co raised its position in shares of APA by 5,718.2% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of APA by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of APA by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 86.8% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $20.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 3.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $17.66 and a 12-month high of $36.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.97 and its 200 day moving average is $23.08.

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

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. APA’s payout ratio is 44.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

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.