Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in APA Corporation $APA

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 76.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 249,292 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 107,979 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $6,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $38.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. APA Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.74 and a 1 year high of $45.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.92. The company has a market cap of $13.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.33.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.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 company posted $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. APA’s payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other APA news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of APA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,349.82. The trade was a 77.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on APA shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Benchmark lifted their target price on APA from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their target price on APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Capital One Financial lifted their target price on APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Eight 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.