APA Corporation $APA is Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's 10th Largest Position

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management trimmed its APA stake by 3.8% in Q1 but still held 1.79 million shares worth about $76.1 million, making APA its 10th-largest position.
• APA reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $1.38 versus $1.11 expected and revenue of $2.33 billion versus $2.13 billion expected, though revenue declined 11.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, implying a 3.0% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $40.85 price target.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS reduced its stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,792,957 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,431 shares during the quarter. APA comprises approximately 1.6% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned 0.51% of APA worth $76,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in APA during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,236,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,534,070. APA Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $45.66. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $36.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.16. The company has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA's payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at APA

In other APA news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of APA from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Eight research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.85.

About APA

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.

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