Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $6.89 Million Stock Holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,958 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,631 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in APA were worth $6,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in APA by 5.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,719,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,714,656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,862 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in APA by 4.1% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 27,525,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $992,577,000 after buying an additional 1,073,681 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in APA by 3.8% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,609,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,450,000 after buying an additional 167,934 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of APA by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,458,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,144,000 after purchasing an additional 153,743 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of APA by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,655,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,097,000 after purchasing an additional 229,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ APA opened at $32.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a PE ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 3.27. APA Co. has a one year low of $29.47 and a one year high of $46.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on APA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays started coverage on APA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.80.

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.