Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in APA Corporation by 74.5%, selling 55,249 shares and now holding only 18,889 shares valued at approximately $397,000.
• APA Corporation recently reported a 35.1% year-over-year revenue increase for the quarter, reaching $2.61 billion and surpassing analysts' expectations with an EPS of $1.06.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a 5.4% yield, with the payment date set for August 22nd, 2023.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 74.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,889 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,249 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in APA were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in APA by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company's stock worth $142,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540,055 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth about $30,767,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,297,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,328,000 after buying an additional 1,195,212 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in APA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,796,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of APA by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,498,000 after acquiring an additional 850,052 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on APA shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of APA from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Argus upgraded shares of APA to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on APA from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.50.

APA Price Performance

APA stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.27. The stock had a trading volume of 6,341,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,214,260. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 1.23. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $29.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The company 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 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is 35.97%.

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.