APA Corporation $APA Position Boosted by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its APA stake by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, and several other hedge funds also added to or initiated positions in the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own about 83.01% of APA shares.
• APA reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $1.38 versus the $1.11 consensus and revenue of $2.33 billion versus $2.13 billion expected. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to a 2.6% yield.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly cautious: APA’s consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $40.12, even as several analysts recently raised targets. Meanwhile, multiple insiders sold shares, including a director and a vice president, which may temper investor enthusiasm.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 514,390 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 59,641 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of APA worth $12,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APA. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 550,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,453,000 after buying an additional 125,000 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its holdings in shares of APA by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 9,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 3,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rahlfs Capital LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Rahlfs Capital LLC now owns 58,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple earnings forecasts for APA, including FY2026, FY2027, and several quarterly estimates, suggesting improved profitability expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley increased its price target on APA to $44 from $43, indicating slightly better valuation expectations despite the cautious rating. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: APA declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors and support the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: APA management discussed the company in a shareholder/analyst call transcript, but no major new catalyst was highlighted in the provided excerpt. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares, a insider sale that can be viewed cautiously by investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: An energy-sector article about Shell divesting Uruguay offshore interests is more relevant to the broader industry than to APA specifically. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.12.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $38.80 on Monday. 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 one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $45.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 0.38.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. APA's quarterly revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. APA's payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. This represents a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

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.

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