APA Corporation $APA Shares Acquired by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada increased its APA stake by 5,619.9% in the third quarter, acquiring 165,451 additional shares for a total holding of 168,395 shares valued at approximately $7.3 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $44.38, despite some firms upgrading APA or raising their targets.
• APA announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share and authorized a 40 million-share buyback program; the stock recently traded near its one-year high at $49.76.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 5,619.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 168,395 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 165,451 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in APA were worth $7,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in APA. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in APA by 9.8% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its position in shares of APA by 36.7% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 106,667 shares of the company's stock worth $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 9,849 shares of the company's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in APA by 37.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on APA. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Argus raised shares of APA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on shares of APA from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.38.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $49.76 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.26. The firm has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. APA Corporation has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $49.85.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 6.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is 21.14%.

APA announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to buy back 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About APA

APA Corporation is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company's activities include identifying hydrocarbon resources, drilling and completing wells, operating producing properties, and managing related infrastructure.

APA's principal producing areas include the Permian Basin in the United States and Egypt's Western Desert, where it operates through joint ventures with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.

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