Legal & General Group Plc Invests $17.45 Million in APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Legal & General Group acquired 535,756 APA shares worth approximately $17.45 million, representing about 0.15% of the company; institutional investors collectively own 83.01% of APA.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $41.50. Recent actions included target-price reductions from UBS, Goldman Sachs, and BMO Capital Markets.
• APA reported quarterly earnings of $1.89 per share and revenue of $2.37 billion, narrowly missing analyst estimates for both. Shares opened at $42.54, while the company’s one-year trading range is $21.57 to $45.66.

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 535,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,450,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.15% of APA at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in shares of APA by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 106,667 shares of the company's stock worth $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in APA by 37.9% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, IRON Financial LLC boosted its position in APA by 7.2% during the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of APA from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. KeyCorp set a $46.00 target price on APA in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Mizuho upgraded APA to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $42.54 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $36.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.39. APA Corporation has a 1 year low of $21.57 and a 1 year high of $45.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding APA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source