Harris Associates L P Acquires 488,530 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Harris Associates L P increased its stake in APA Corporation by 1.9%, owning approximately 7.11% of the company worth $540 million after acquiring 488,530 additional shares.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for APA, with Mizuho reducing their target to $19.00 while others like Scotiabank increased it to $22.00, contributing to a consensus target of $23.72.
• APA Corporation reported earnings of $0.87 per share for the latest quarter, significantly surpassing the analysts' estimated $0.45, with total revenue of $2.18 billion.

Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,708,527 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 488,530 shares during the quarter. Harris Associates L P owned about 7.11% of APA worth $540,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 2,709.8% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of APA by 499.2% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in APA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Roth Capital lowered APA from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $22.00 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.72.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APA traded down $1.16 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.68. 8,307,632 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,998,899. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. 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 $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of 7.59, a PEG ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50 day moving average is $20.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.96.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.42. APA had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 10.53%.The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. APA's revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

About APA

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.