Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases 107,979 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management increased its APA stake by 76.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 107,979 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 249,292 shares worth about $6.1 million.
• APA reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.38 versus the $1.11 estimate and revenue of $2.33 billion above expectations. Analysts now have a consensus rating of Hold on the stock with an average price target of $40.96.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, implying a 2.6% yield and $1.00 annualized payout. APA also saw insider selling, including share sales by Director Matthew Regis Bob and VP Mark D. Maddox.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 76.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 249,292 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 107,979 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of APA worth $6,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in APA in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in APA in the third quarter worth $43,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in APA in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in APA in the third quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in APA in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Stephens raised their price target on APA from $24.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Mizuho raised their price target on APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded APA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.96.

APA Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $38.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $38.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.92. APA Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. Analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In other APA news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

APA Company Profile

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.

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