First Trust Advisors LP Buys 528,159 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,166,968 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 528,159 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.59% of APA worth $50,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APA. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,498,000 after buying an additional 850,052 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 worth $297,540,000 after acquiring an additional 894,574 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,016,000 after purchasing an additional 200,770 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in APA by 29.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 929,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in APA by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,532,360 shares of the company's stock worth $35,382,000 after buying an additional 88,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 target price on APA and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.79.

APA Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APA traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,398,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,823,561. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 2.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.47. APA Co. has a one year low of $13.58 and a one year high of $33.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA's payout ratio is presently 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.