Bank of Nova Scotia Lowers Stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in APA Corporation by 37.5%, owning 40,998 shares after selling 24,579 shares in the first quarter, which were valued at approximately $862,000.
• Several hedge funds made notable changes, with Golden State Wealth Management LLC increasing its position by an extraordinary 2,709.8%, resulting in ownership of 1,433 shares valued at $30,000.
• Analysts have varied opinions on APA's stock, with price targets ranging from $21.00 set by Piper Sandler and Morgan Stanley, and an average target price of $23.53.

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 37.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,998 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,579 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in APA were worth $862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter worth about $2,617,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $222,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 1,079.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 338,704 shares of the company's stock worth $7,845,000 after buying an additional 309,994 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of APA by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 384,493 shares of the company's stock worth $8,878,000 after buying an additional 25,084 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company's stock worth $305,498,000 after buying an additional 850,052 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Argus raised APA to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of APA in a report on Monday, July 14th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of APA in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.59.

APA Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ APA traded up $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.30. 1,759,933 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,091,159. APA Corporation has a 1 year low of $13.58 and a 1 year high of $29.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.02.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 10.53%. The firm's revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is 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.