Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 13,770 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,104 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,770 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $2,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 12,077 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in APA by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its holdings in APA by 175.8% in the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new position in APA in the third quarter worth $7,238,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new position in APA in the third quarter worth $757,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on APA. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

APA Trading Up 0.2 %

APA stock opened at $20.61 on Monday. 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 one year low of $17.66 and a one year high of $36.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 3.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.97 and its 200 day moving average is $23.04.

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 firm 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

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

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.