Smead Capital Management Inc. Purchases 626,460 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,235,957 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 626,460 shares during the period. APA makes up approximately 3.4% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.71% of APA worth $187,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of APA by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,719,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,714,656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,862 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of APA by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 27,525,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $992,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,681 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of APA by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,458,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,144,000 after purchasing an additional 153,743 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of APA by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,655,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,097,000 after purchasing an additional 229,516 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of APA by 191.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,144,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,952,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,022 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

APA Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.27. 2,540,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,884,548. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.73. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $29.47 and a twelve month high of $46.15. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 3.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 62.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APA shares. Barclays started coverage on APA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $37.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of APA in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.80.

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.