Woodline Partners LP Buys Shares of 22,217 APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in APA by 1,087.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,176 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in APA by 5,718.2% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,280 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,258 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in APA by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in APA during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in APA during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APA. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.21.

APA Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ APA traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,729,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,975,980. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.31. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.18. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $33.41. 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 (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.97%.

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.