PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Grows Position in APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group increased its stake in APA Corporation by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 193,102 shares valued at about $4.7 million.
• APA reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.38 per share and revenue of $2.33 billion, both beating analyst expectations. However, revenue was still down 11.7% from a year earlier.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, or $1.00 annualized, implying a 2.6% yield. Analysts currently rate APA as a Hold on average, with a consensus price target of $40.12.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 193,102 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,357 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.05% of APA worth $4,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in APA by 13.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,030,230 shares of the company's stock worth $340,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674,739 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of APA by 29.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,462,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,349,000 after buying an additional 1,018,326 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 157.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,970,000 after buying an additional 1,869,891 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 43.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,092,000 after buying an additional 806,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of APA by 8.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,498,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,656,000 after buying an additional 193,580 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $38.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.79. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $45.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at APA

In other APA news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on APA from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Scotiabank raised their price target on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on APA from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on APA from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.12.

APA Company 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.

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