Patton Fund Management Inc. Takes Position in APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in APA Corporation worth approximately $246,000 by purchasing 13,473 shares during the second quarter.
• APA Corporation reported $0.87 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.45, while revenue totaled $2.18 billion, beating projections of $2.03 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, which will be paid on November 21st, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%.

Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in APA by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,080,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,876,000 after buying an additional 2,894,543 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $22,533,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in APA by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,932,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,893 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in APA by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 36,439,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $765,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the 1st quarter valued at $17,129,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ APA opened at $24.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $27.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.25.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.42. APA had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APA. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of APA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of APA in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of APA from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of APA from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell 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 $23.78.

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.

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