125,000 Shares in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Purchased by Mariner Investment Group LLC

Mariner Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 125,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,628,000. APA makes up about 1.0% of Mariner Investment Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APA. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of APA by 1,087.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in APA by 2,709.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in APA by 499.2% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $18.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,566,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,265,980. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $33.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 6.69, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.25.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.17 billion. APA had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 23.22%. APA's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA's payout ratio is 35.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on APA. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on APA from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on APA from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of APA to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.44.

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.