Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in APA Corporation $APA

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 71.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,818 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,125 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.05% of APA worth $4,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 1.2% during the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 42,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 0.5% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 106,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,592,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 19.6% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of APA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at APA

In other APA news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Down 1.5%

APA stock opened at $43.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.68. APA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 15.55%.The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 25.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Scotiabank raised shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of APA in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “hold” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.58.

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.