Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Takes Position in APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC invested approximately $1.80 million in APA Corporation, acquiring 85,438 shares during the first quarter.
• APA Corporation reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with an EPS of $0.87, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.45.
• The company recently declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend with a yield of 4.9%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 33.44%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 85,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,796,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in APA by 460.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 576,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,121,000 after purchasing an additional 473,748 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of APA by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 99,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,100,000 after buying an additional 3,906 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in APA during the first quarter worth about $22,533,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in APA in the first quarter worth about $1,883,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in APA in the first quarter worth about $72,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.64. 7,026,645 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,605,794. APA Corporation has a twelve month low of $13.58 and a twelve month high of $29.47. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $19.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 1.23.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. APA's revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on APA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on APA from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Cfra Research upgraded APA to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on APA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Roth Capital lowered shares of APA from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.94.

APA 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.