Ritholtz Wealth Management Grows Holdings in APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its APA Corporation stake by 79.2% in the first quarter, ending with 144,749 shares valued at about $6.14 million.
• APA shares were down 2.6% in Thursday trading, and the stock was trading below its 50-day average; analysts currently have an overall Hold consensus with an average price target of $41.08.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.38 EPS on revenue of $2.33 billion, and it also announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend payable on August 21 for a 3.0% annualized yield.

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 79.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 144,749 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 63,966 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in APA were worth $6,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Capital Management of KS Inc. purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter worth $1,214,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in APA by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 306,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,765,000 after acquiring an additional 111,777 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in APA by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 185,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,437,000 after acquiring an additional 77,125 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in APA by 49.5% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,578,720 shares of the company's stock worth $38,331,000 after acquiring an additional 522,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in APA by 604.4% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 208,287 shares of the company's stock worth $5,057,000 after acquiring an additional 178,717 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APA. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on APA from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of APA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of APA from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.08.

APA Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of APA opened at $33.33 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $37.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.57. The stock has a market cap of $11.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.33. APA Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.74 and a 12 month high of $45.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The company's revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other APA news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

APA 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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