Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 4,569,779 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 1,726.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,834,502 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,569,779 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 1.37% of APA worth $205,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of APA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of APA by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,376,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,016 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of APA by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,710,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,807,000 after purchasing an additional 285,542 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in APA by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,900 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in APA by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,426,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in APA by 29.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,462,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,349,000 after buying an additional 1,018,326 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other APA news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:APA opened at $36.15 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $12.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.35. APA Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.86 and a 52-week high of $45.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.91.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on APA from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of APA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.35.

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.