Empyrean Capital Partners LP Invests $6.03 Million in APA Corporation $APA

Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 142,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,026,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Estate Counselors LLC bought a new position in APA during the first quarter worth about $2,372,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of APA by 5.1% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 809,126 shares of the company's stock worth $34,339,000 after acquiring an additional 39,375 shares in the last quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P bought a new stake in shares of APA in the first quarter worth about $3,206,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the first quarter worth about $20,595,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of APA by 7.9% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 97,891 shares of the company's stock worth $4,154,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APA. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on APA from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Eight research 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 MarketBeat.com, APA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.35.

Insider Activity at APA

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

APA Stock Down 3.9%

NASDAQ:APA opened at $34.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.06. APA Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.86 and a 52-week high of $45.66. The company has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a PE ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

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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