Gallacher Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Gallacher Capital Management opened a new position in APA Corporation during the first quarter, buying 32,624 shares worth about $1.39 million. Institutional investors remain heavily involved in the stock, owning 83.01% of shares outstanding.
• APA has seen mixed Wall Street sentiment: analysts have recently lifted price targets, but the overall consensus remains Hold with an average target of $40.42. The latest ratings include upgrades to targets from RBC, Evercore, and Barclays, alongside a downgrade from Zacks Research.
• The company reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $1.38 beating expectations and revenue of $2.33 billion topping estimates. APA also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, yielding 2.9% annually.

Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 32,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,385,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 115.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in APA during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in APA during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of APA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of APA from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.42.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $34.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.51. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.86 and a 52 week high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. APA's revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

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

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 transaction of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

APA 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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