Gabelli Funds LLC Acquires 67,000 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in APA Corporation by 26.7%, owning approximately 0.09% of APA worth about $6.69 million after purchasing an additional 67,000 shares.
• APA's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.87, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.45, despite a 14.4% decrease in quarterly revenue compared to last year.
• The stock has been rated a Hold by most analysts, with a consensus target price of $23.72 after several adjustments to price objectives from various brokerage firms.

Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 26.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,100 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.09% of APA worth $6,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in APA by 2,709.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in APA by 499.2% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in APA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on APA. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Cfra Research raised APA to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on APA from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on APA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.72.

APA Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:APA traded down $1.07 on Wednesday, hitting $22.78. 2,093,350 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,905,097. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $27.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.93. The company has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63, a PEG ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 1.29.

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

About APA

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.