MQS Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

MQS Management LLC boosted its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 91.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,858 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,194 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. American National Bank raised its stake in shares of APA by 208.5% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of APA by 75.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on APA. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on APA from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of APA from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.86.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $31.28. 3,952,993 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,326,961. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.07. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $27.17 and a 52-week high of $46.15. The company has a market cap of $11.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.50, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 3.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 45.32% and a net margin of 34.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

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.