APA Corporation $APA Stock Holdings Lessened by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 723,929 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,650 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in APA were worth $17,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in APA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in APA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in APA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in APA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in APA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.96.

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 sale, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. This represents a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Up 3.6%

APA opened at $37.75 on Tuesday. APA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.03 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.08 and a 200-day moving average of $31.26. 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 $13.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80 and a beta of 0.38.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

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.