Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Purchases 5,825 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 198,285 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,825 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in APA were worth $4,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after buying an additional 2,004,555 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 48,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after acquiring an additional 7,580 shares in the last quarter. Woodstock Corp raised its holdings in APA by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,540,000 after buying an additional 51,993 shares during the last quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,499,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 112.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,448,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,092,000 after buying an additional 767,557 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on APA from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bernstein Bank cut their price target on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.18.

APA Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $24.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 3.23. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $22.72 and a 52 week high of $40.93. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 32.66%. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. APA’s revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that APA Co. will post 3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.19%.

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.