APA Corporation $APA Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its position in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 61.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 264,144 shares of the company's stock after selling 423,585 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.07% of APA worth $11,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of APA by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in APA by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in APA by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company's stock worth $56,092,000 after purchasing an additional 806,252 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in APA by 10.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 44,833 shares of the company's stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 4,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in APA during the second quarter worth approximately $5,199,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other APA news, 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

APA Trading Down 1.0%

APA stock opened at $36.33 on Friday. APA Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $45.66. The business's 50-day moving average is $35.24 and its 200 day moving average is $34.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 0.35.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research lowered APA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of APA from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.35.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.