APA Corporation $APA Shares Acquired by Howard Capital Management LLC

Howard Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 52.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 177,392 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,854 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $7,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of APA in the third quarter valued at $229,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of APA by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 119,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,962,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, B.A. Schrock Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter worth $317,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APA. UBS Group lifted their target price on APA from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on APA from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on APA from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on APA from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.38.

APA Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of APA stock traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,325,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,669,751. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. APA Corporation has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $49.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 6.00 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.14%.

APA declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to buy back 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About APA

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s activities include identifying prospective resources, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing assets across multiple international markets.

APA’s operations have historically been concentrated in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt’s Western Desert, where it participates in exploration and production activities through joint ventures.