California Public Employees Retirement System Raises Holdings in APA Corporation $APA

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 21.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 818,301 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 143,922 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in APA were worth $34,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its stake in APA by 115.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in APA in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $35.77 on Wednesday. APA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $35.65 and its 200-day moving average is $33.74.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors 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 yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on APA. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of APA from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Scotiabank upped their target price on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Eight investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA 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 sale, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

APA 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.