Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 416,300 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,882 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of APA worth $8,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in APA by 1,087.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,176 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 2,709.8% in 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. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 499.2% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in APA in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of APA in a research report on Monday. Citigroup boosted 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. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 target price (up previously from $23.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $21.00 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.83.

APA Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of APA traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,857,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,256,344. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company's 50-day moving average is $18.55 and its 200-day moving average is $19.67. APA Corporation has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $33.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.25.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA's payout ratio is 35.97%.

APA Company 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.