Prudential PLC Acquires 120,717 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Prudential PLC boosted its APA Corporation stake by 753.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 120,717 shares and bringing its total holdings to 136,744 shares worth about $3.35 million.
• APA reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, earning $1.38 per share versus the $1.11 consensus estimate, while revenue of $2.33 billion also topped forecasts.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, implying a 2.7% annual yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $40.96.

Prudential PLC increased its position in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 753.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 136,744 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 120,717 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in APA were worth $3,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of APA by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company's stock worth $175,426,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117,032 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $55,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869,891 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,674,739 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 worth $108,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of APA by 148.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,398,452 shares of the company's stock worth $33,954,000 after purchasing an additional 835,956 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

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

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $36.57 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.58. APA Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.74 and a 1-year high of $45.66. The firm has a market cap of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.33. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. APA's revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on APA from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. TD Cowen raised APA to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen raised APA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.96.

About APA

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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