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

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 176,896 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,785 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in APA were worth $6,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in APA in the third quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,237,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,412,000 after purchasing an additional 38,505 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of APA by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 726,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,053,000 after purchasing an additional 90,610 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,531,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,037,000 after buying an additional 24,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in APA during the fourth quarter valued at $11,050,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $32.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.27. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $32.46 and a 200 day moving average of $34.53.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of APA from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Johnson Rice lowered APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James cut their price objective on APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.25.

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.