Smead Capital Management Inc. Sells 779,656 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Smead Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 7.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,161,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 779,656 shares during the period. APA comprises about 4.8% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $246,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in APA by 157.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,869,891 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in APA by 7,627.3% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,013,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,400 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in APA by 160.5% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 336,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,165,000 after purchasing an additional 892,438 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of APA by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,092,000 after purchasing an additional 806,252 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of APA by 528.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 681,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,466,000 after purchasing an additional 573,193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $29.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. APA Corporation has a 1-year low of $13.58 and a 1-year high of $30.08. The company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.19.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Monday, November 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays set a $24.00 target price on APA in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Capital One Financial lowered their price target on APA from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.39.

About APA

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.