Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 26,737 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its position in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 251,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,737 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $5,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,498,000 after purchasing an additional 850,052 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,540,000 after acquiring an additional 894,574 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in APA by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,016,000 after acquiring an additional 200,770 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in APA by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,500,000 after acquiring an additional 929,770 shares during the period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its stake in shares of APA by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,532,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,382,000 after acquiring an additional 88,656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.21.

APA Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $16.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $33.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.04. The firm has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.74.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

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.