Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 29,300 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360,853 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,300 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.12% of APA worth $12,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the third quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in APA during the 3rd quarter worth about $218,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $128,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 98.5% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 29,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 14,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NovaPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 5.8% during the third quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $32.06. 6,778,033 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,865,792. The firm's fifty day moving average is $32.46 and its 200 day moving average is $34.53. The company has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.47 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. APA's quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 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 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on APA. Raymond James reduced their price target on APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on APA from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Johnson Rice downgraded APA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, APA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.10.

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.