Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Decreases Stock Position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. decreased its stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 26.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,541 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,593 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in APA were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. now owns 239,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,024,000 after purchasing an additional 24,583 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in APA by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 269,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,665,000 after acquiring an additional 68,725 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 2,638.8% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 25,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 24,699 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,306,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in APA by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 25,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 4,672 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $18.65 on Wednesday. APA Corporation has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $33.41. The stock has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71, a PEG ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. APA had a return on equity of 23.22% and a net margin of 9.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on APA shares. Argus upgraded APA to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 target price (up previously from $14.00) on shares of APA in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.72.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.