Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 131.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,736,041 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in APA were worth $141,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of APA by 4.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,555 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938,335 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P grew its stake in shares of APA by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 15,705,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,367,570 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of APA by 4.9% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,757,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,193,000 after acquiring an additional 129,841 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

APA Price Performance

APA opened at $25.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.09. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $22.72 and a 12-month high of $43.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 3.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. APA had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 32.66%. APA’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on APA. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on APA from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on APA from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on APA in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.38.

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.