AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 165,164 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in APA Corporation by 16.1%, acquiring 165,164 shares, bringing its total ownership to 1,190,244 shares valued at approximately $24.89 million.
• APA Corporation's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.87, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.45, with revenue of $2.18 billion, down 14.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, which translates to an annualized yield of 4.4%, with an ex-dividend date set for October 22.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,190,244 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 165,164 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.33% of APA worth $24,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in APA by 160.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,441 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in APA during the 1st quarter valued at about $17,129,000. Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in APA by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 25,708,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,393,000 after purchasing an additional 488,530 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in APA by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in APA by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 94,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 19,834 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on APA from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Cfra Research upgraded APA to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Argus raised shares of APA to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, APA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.83.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.84. 4,928,242 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,027,011. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $27.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 1.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.42. APA had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.44%.

APA Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.