Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 672,978 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 158,476 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in APA were worth $15,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Harris Associates L P increased its position in APA by 20.8% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,414,000 after buying an additional 4,293,932 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,411,270 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in APA by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,500,000 after purchasing an additional 929,770 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,540,000 after purchasing an additional 894,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,524,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $21.02 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.89. The stock has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 3.26. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $17.66 and a twelve month high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. As a group, research analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 price target on shares of APA and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.25.

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.