Cullen Investment Group LTD. Makes New Investment in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 14,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in APA by 117.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 808 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of APA by 228.6% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of APA by 2,535.1% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 975 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Johnson Rice downgraded APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on APA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on APA from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.80.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $33.16 on Tuesday. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $29.47 and a 52-week high of $46.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 3.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 62.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. APA’s revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. APA’s payout ratio is currently 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.