Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Sells 48,445 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Sovereign’s Capital Management sharply reduced its APA stake, selling 48,445 shares in the fourth quarter and cutting its position by 71.9% to 18,926 shares worth about $463,000.
• Other institutional investors have been active in APA, with several firms increasing holdings; overall, 83.01% of APA stock is owned by institutions.
• APA reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock “Hold” on average with a consensus price target of $41.04. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, yielding about 2.9%.

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC cut its position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 71.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,926 shares of the company's stock after selling 48,445 shares during the quarter. Sovereign s Capital Management LLC's holdings in APA were worth $463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on APA. Evercore increased their target price on APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded APA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on APA from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on APA from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.04.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $34.26 on Wednesday. APA Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.74 and a 1 year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.02 and a 200-day moving average of $32.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.31%.

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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