Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Acquires 24,700 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Aware Super increased its APA Corporation stake by 3.6% in the third quarter, purchasing 24,700 shares and bringing its holdings to 717,989 shares valued at approximately $29.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.01% of APA.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $44.76; individual ratings range from “Strong Buy” to “Sell.”
• APA reported quarterly EPS of $1.89, slightly below expectations, while announcing a $0.25 quarterly dividend and authorizing a 40 million-share repurchase program.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super lifted its stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 717,989 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,700 shares during the quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super owned about 0.20% of APA worth $29,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in APA by 520.8% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in APA during the first quarter valued at $28,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of APA in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in APA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APA. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on APA in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on APA from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of APA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.76.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $48.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.69. The firm has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. APA Corporation has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $52.96.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.46 billion. APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

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

APA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 16th that permits the company to buy back 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

APA Profile

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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