Renaissance Technologies LLC Makes New Investment in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 175,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,043,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of APA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company's stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of APA by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in APA by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,938 shares of the company's stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in APA by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in APA by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 10,762 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on APA shares. Susquehanna reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James downgraded APA from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.79.

APA Trading Up 0.6 %

APA traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.35. The stock had a trading volume of 4,636,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,843,636. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $18.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 2.74. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $33.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. 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.