Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 253,276 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 1,980.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 266,067 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 253,276 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in APA were worth $6,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of APA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in APA by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after purchasing an additional 485,291 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 3.5% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,667,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,466,000 after buying an additional 326,042 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of APA by 131.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,704,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736,041 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of APA by 15.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,358,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,865,000 after acquiring an additional 455,312 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in APA by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,757,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,193,000 after acquiring an additional 129,841 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price target on APA from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $25.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.57.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $22.65 on Friday. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $21.15 and a 52-week high of $37.82. The stock has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 3.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.15 and a 200-day moving average of $27.20. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 14.12%.

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.