APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Bought by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 90.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,929 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,517 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in APA were worth $899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APA. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in APA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company's stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company's stock worth $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in APA by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in APA by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in APA by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 10,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 target price on APA and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna dropped 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. decreased their price target on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.79.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $16.22. 8,844,532 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,864,969. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 2.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.39. 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 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $33.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA's payout ratio is 44.25%.

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.