Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 96,672 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 340.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,072 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 96,672 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in APA were worth $4,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in APA by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461 shares during the period. Summa Corp. purchased a new position in APA during the 4th quarter valued at $7,571,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in 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 during the period. Wealthquest Corp increased its position in APA by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 154,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,533,000 after purchasing an additional 27,513 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in APA by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,841,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,093,000 after purchasing an additional 345,192 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

APA Price Performance

APA opened at $28.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 3.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.13. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $27.36 and a 52-week high of $46.15.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 45.32%. APA’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of APA from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.52.

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.