Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in APA Corporation by 8.1%, acquiring an additional 1,046,893 shares, bringing its total ownership to about 13.9 million shares, valued at approximately $292.9 million.
• APA Corporation recently reported earnings of $0.87 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.45, despite a 14.4% decline in revenue year-over-year, totaling $2.18 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, translating to a 5.0% annual yield, with the next payment scheduled for August 22nd.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,932,980 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,046,893 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 3.85% of APA worth $292,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 2,709.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 499.2% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new position in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 122.5% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,084 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on APA shares. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of APA in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.59.

APA Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of APA traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $20.44. 5,919,533 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,119,509. The firm has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a PEG ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 1.23. APA Corporation has a 12-month low of $13.58 and a 12-month high of $29.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $19.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.02.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. APA had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The business's revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. APA's dividend payout ratio is 33.44%.

APA Company 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.