Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Buys 95,958 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 592,134 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 95,958 shares during the period. APA accounts for approximately 3.0% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC owned 0.16% of APA worth $13,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in APA by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company's stock worth $219,016,000 after buying an additional 200,770 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in APA by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company's stock worth $1,503,000 after buying an additional 12,077 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in APA by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company's stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its holdings in APA by 175.8% in the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company's stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 14,980 shares during the period. Finally, Country Club Bank lifted its holdings in APA by 148.8% in the fourth quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 181,420 shares of the company's stock worth $4,067,000 after buying an additional 108,492 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of APA traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, hitting $18.17. 8,022,290 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,939,850. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.18. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.81. 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 results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on APA. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of APA from $25.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.37.

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.