Baird Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its APA holdings by 33.8% in the second quarter to 119,331 shares valued at approximately $3.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.01% of APA.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: several firms issued Buy ratings or raised targets, while the broader consensus is Hold with a $42.97 price target. Zacks raised near-term earnings forecasts but lowered estimates for early 2028.
• APA shares recently traded near $47.41, close to their 12-month high, despite the company slightly missing quarterly revenue and EPS expectations. The company reported $1.89 in quarterly EPS on $2.37 billion in revenue, compared with estimates of $1.90 and $2.46 billion.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,331 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,139 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in APA were worth $3,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APA. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in APA by 41.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,102 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 2,362 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its stake in APA by 4.3% during the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 9,849 shares of the company's stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in APA by 136.8% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 27,793 shares of the company's stock worth $905,000 after purchasing an additional 16,056 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of APA by 9.8% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of APA by 240.5% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,662,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,727,000 after buying an additional 1,880,674 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Key APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its APA EPS forecasts for Q4 2026 to $0.53 from $0.50, Q2 2027 to $0.93 from $0.77, and FY2027 to $3.59 from $3.16. These upward revisions suggest improved expectations for earnings momentum over the next several reporting periods. Zacks Research Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for APA
• Positive Sentiment: APA was highlighted in a Zacks industry outlook covering W&T Offshore, APA and Diamondback, while a separate Zacks analysis characterized APA as a strong value stock. The company’s low valuation metrics, including a reported price-to-earnings ratio below 9, may be attracting value-oriented investors. Zacks Industry Outlook W&T Offshore, APA and Diamondback Here's Why APA is a Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: The latest revisions leave Zacks’ current full-year consensus EPS estimate at $5.71. APA’s most recent quarter showed solid profitability and year-over-year EPS growth, but revenue and EPS slightly missed analyst expectations, limiting the strength of the bullish case.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut its Q1 2028 EPS estimate to $0.79 from $0.99 and its Q2 2028 estimate to $0.75 from $0.82. The longer-term reductions point to potential moderation in earnings growth and may weigh on upside if investors focus beyond the near-term improvements.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on APA. Roth Capital set a $39.00 target price on APA in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Argus raised shares of APA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of APA from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.97.

APA Trading Up 5.3%

APA opened at $47.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.37. 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 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month high of $47.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.76.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%.The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Profile

APA Corporation NASDAQ: APA is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operates through subsidiaries and manages upstream assets spanning exploration, drilling, production and related field-development activities.

APA's principal producing operations are in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt. The company has also pursued offshore exploration opportunities in Suriname, where it has participated in drilling and appraisal activities in the country's offshore blocks.

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