Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,896 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,785 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of APA worth $6,347,000 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 APA. Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 1.2% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 21,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in APA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 49,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in APA by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 5.8% in the third quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of APA by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on APA from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.25.

APA Trading Down 1.3 %

APA stock opened at $32.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $29.47 and a 12-month high of $46.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.46 and a 200 day moving average of $34.53.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.78%.

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.