GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 19.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,178 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in APA by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Tobam bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on APA. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Monday, April 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of APA from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of APA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of APA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.52.

APA Price Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $28.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 3.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.94. APA Co. has a 1-year low of $27.17 and a 1-year high of $46.15.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 45.32%. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.