QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in APA Corporation $APA

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 163.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,692 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,744 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in APA by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 306,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,765,000 after acquiring an additional 111,777 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 185,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,437,000 after purchasing an additional 77,125 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of APA by 49.5% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,578,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,331,000 after purchasing an additional 522,673 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $938,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of APA by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 112,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 42,068 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other APA news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the business’s 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $34.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 0.35. APA Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wolfe Research raised 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.88.

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.