APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Stake Increased by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 374,179 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,426 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.10% of APA worth $8,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in APA by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,016,000 after acquiring an additional 200,770 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in APA by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 12,077 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of APA by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company's stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in shares of APA by 175.8% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Country Club Bank boosted its stake in shares of APA by 148.8% during the 4th quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 181,420 shares of the company's stock worth $4,067,000 after purchasing an additional 108,492 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price target on shares of APA and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.53.

APA Trading Down 0.4%

APA stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.25. 4,575,812 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,999,938. The company has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $33.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.65.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.17 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. APA's revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.