State of Michigan Retirement System Raises Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 15.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 113,473 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,900 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in APA were worth $3,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461 shares during the period. Summa Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,571,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 3.2% in the fourth 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 lifted its stake in shares of APA by 21.7% in the fourth 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 lifted its stake in shares of APA by 23.1% in the fourth 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $29.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of 3.28, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 3.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $27.17 and a twelve month high of $46.15.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.12). APA had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 45.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on APA. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of APA from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.52.

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.