Ping Capital Management Inc. Acquires 28,000 Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Ping Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 280.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,000 shares during the quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in APA were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,442,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at $996,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at $8,282,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in APA by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 115,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,658,000 after acquiring an additional 13,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in shares of APA by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 58,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,348,000 after buying an additional 8,118 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on APA shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $22.00 price objective on APA and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on APA from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays set a $21.00 price objective on APA and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Three research 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 MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.44.

APA Price Performance

APA stock traded down $0.16 on Monday, reaching $18.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,609,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,251,092. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.25. The business's fifty day moving average price is $18.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.57. APA Corporation has a twelve month low of $13.58 and a twelve month high of $33.41.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.36%. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.