Gallacher Capital Management LLC Grows Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,237,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,412,000 after acquiring an additional 38,505 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in APA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in APA by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 726,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,053,000 after acquiring an additional 90,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 1.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,531,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,037,000 after acquiring an additional 24,182 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ APA traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.26. The stock had a trading volume of 9,600,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,374,839. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.07. APA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.90 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 3.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.12). APA had a return on equity of 45.32% and a net margin of 34.04%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that APA Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $37.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on APA in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.05.

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.