Cowa LLC Increases Stock Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Cowa LLC raised its stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,600 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Cowa LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 3,859 shares during the last quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in APA during the second quarter valued at about $383,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its stake in APA by 17.9% during the second quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 27,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 50.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 985,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,002,000 after purchasing an additional 329,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of APA by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 31,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 4,206 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of APA from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.38.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $25.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 3.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.48 and a 200 day moving average of $30.16. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $22.72 and a 52 week high of $43.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. APA’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

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.