Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $1.11 Million Stock Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,999 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,805 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $1,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,270 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P grew its holdings in shares of APA by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,414,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293,932 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,540,000 after purchasing an additional 894,574 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,667,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,466,000 after purchasing an additional 326,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,307,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,928,000 after purchasing an additional 224,547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ APA opened at $19.61 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.29 and a 200-day moving average of $23.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 3.26. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $17.66 and a 52 week high of $36.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on APA shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Susquehanna cut their target price on APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho cut their target price on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.90.

APA 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.