Aquatic Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,931 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,869 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in APA were worth $3,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of APA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in APA by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540,055 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of APA by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company's stock worth $94,500,000 after acquiring an additional 929,770 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,540,000 after purchasing an additional 894,574 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of APA by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,498,000 after purchasing an additional 850,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at about $14,524,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on APA shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James lowered shares of APA from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.79.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock traded up $0.68 on Thursday, reaching $16.22. The stock had a trading volume of 8,844,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,861,875. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 2.74. APA Co. has a 1 year low of $13.58 and a 1 year high of $33.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.39.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released 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 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%. Equities research analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current 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 yield of 6.17%. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.25%.

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.