Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 629,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,524,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.17% of APA as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 615.0% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 8,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 7,657 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,043,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in APA by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 65,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 18,182 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 850,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 384,493 shares of the company's stock worth $8,878,000 after purchasing an additional 25,084 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Stock Up 0.6 %

APA stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.35. 4,636,640 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,843,636. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.71 and a 200-day moving average of $21.61. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $13.58 and a twelve month high of $33.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. Sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.12%. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on APA shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.79.

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.