Smead Capital Management Inc. Decreases Position in APA Corporation $APA

Smead Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,503,039 shares of the company’s stock after selling 658,534 shares during the period. APA makes up approximately 4.8% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $232,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APA. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 157.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869,891 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in APA by 13.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,030,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674,739 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in APA by 29.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,462,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,326 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in APA by 148.6% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,398,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,954,000 after acquiring an additional 835,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in APA by 43.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,092,000 after acquiring an additional 806,252 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple earnings forecasts for APA, including FY2026, FY2027, and several quarterly estimates, suggesting improved profitability expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley increased its price target on APA to $44 from $43, indicating slightly better valuation expectations despite the cautious rating. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: APA declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors and support the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: APA management discussed the company in a shareholder/analyst call transcript, but no major new catalyst was highlighted in the provided excerpt. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares, a insider sale that can be viewed cautiously by investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: An energy-sector article about Shell divesting Uruguay offshore interests is more relevant to the broader industry than to APA specifically. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other APA news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $38.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 0.38. APA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.62.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.12.

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.