Apella Capital LLC Buys Shares of 17,519 APA Corporation $APA

Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in APA by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in APA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $33.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.07 and a 200 day moving average of $32.62. The company has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. APA Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. This represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho increased their target price on APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on APA from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.96.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.