Rakuten Securities Inc. Invests $34,000 in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in APA. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in APA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in APA by 3,173.6% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 17,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 16,566 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in APA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $145,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in APA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in APA by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,362,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,324,000 after purchasing an additional 29,907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $32.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 3.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.72. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $29.47 and a 12-month high of $46.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. APA’s revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on APA shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of APA from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of APA from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.80.

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.