QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in APA Corporation $APA

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 163.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,692 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,744 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $1,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APA. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 14.5% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares in the last quarter. Baer Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the first quarter valued at $866,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 8.8% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 52,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,254 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC purchased a new position in APA in the first quarter valued at $247,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 29.7% in the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 5,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $34.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. APA Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $45.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.02.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. APA’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on APA. Evercore upped their price target on APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.88.

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.