South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Holdings in APA Corporation $APA

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 26.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 597,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 210,124 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in APA were worth $25,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in APA by 520.8% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its stake in shares of APA by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 115.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at APA

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on APA. Capital One Financial increased their target price on shares of APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of APA from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.35.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $36.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. APA Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $45.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.22.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be paid 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 2.7%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.31%.

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.