APA Corporation $APA Shares Acquired by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 21.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 818,301 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 143,922 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.23% of APA worth $34,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in APA in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC raised its holdings in APA by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in APA during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on APA. Truist Financial reduced their target price on APA from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on APA from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.35.

APA Stock Up 2.7%

APA stock opened at $35.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.74. APA Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $45.66. 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 capitalization of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.35.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. APA’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

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.