Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 38,893 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 54.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,107 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,893 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in APA were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alethea Capital Management LLC bought a new position in APA in the 4th quarter valued at $385,000. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 246,222 shares of the company's stock worth $5,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,590 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in APA by 109.7% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 514,969 shares of the company's stock worth $11,891,000 after acquiring an additional 269,447 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in APA by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,238 shares of the company's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 3,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in APA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,767,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $17.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,313,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,990,143. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. 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 $13.58 and a 12 month high of $33.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.51 and a 200-day moving average of $20.69.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho reduced their target price on APA from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price target on shares of APA and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.53.

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.