Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management boosted its APA stake by 26.6% in Q3 to 1,708,261 shares (about 0.48% of the company), valued at roughly $41.48 million.
• Institutional ownership is high (83.01%), and other large managers—including AQR, Evergreen, SG Americas and Goldman Sachs—also made sizable purchases, indicating strong institutional interest.
• APA beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.91 vs. $0.62 consensus), announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend (3.1% yield), and faces mixed analyst views—consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $28.92 but some bullish targets as high as $40.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,708,261 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 359,139 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.48% of APA worth $41,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,869,891 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 7,627.3% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,013,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,400 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 160.5% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 336,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,165,000 after purchasing an additional 892,438 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company's stock worth $56,092,000 after purchasing an additional 806,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in APA by 528.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 681,588 shares of the company's stock worth $12,466,000 after purchasing an additional 573,193 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on APA shares. William Blair started coverage on APA in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of APA from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.92.

APA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: APA announced a dual listing on Nasdaq Texas, which could increase local liquidity and visibility with Texas‑based investors and reinforce the company’s Permian Basin ties. APA Corporation Announces Dual Listing on Nasdaq Texas
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish analyst notes and price‑target increases have surfaced this week (Benchmark raised its target to $40 with a Buy; Susquehanna and BMO published positive commentary and a separate report raised the target to $34), supporting upward momentum and investor confidence. APA Price Target Raised to $34
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted APA as a value upstream pick amid oil volatility, noting low valuation multiples, improved cost structure and cash flow — a narrative that attracts income/value‑oriented energy investors. Why One Energy Expert Is Betting on These 3 Oil Stocks Now
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC and Piper Sandler raised price targets (to $29 and $30) but kept sector‑perform/neutral ratings — a mixed signal that trims downside risk but doesn’t add a strong buy case. RBC/Piper Sandler PT adjustments
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports flagged a “large increase” but the underlying data shows 0 shares / NaN changes — likely a data error and currently not meaningful for price pressure or squeeze dynamics.
• Neutral Sentiment: Legislative chatter (H.R.7554) aiming to limit greenhouse‑gas regulation could, if enacted, ease regulatory risk for fossil‑fuel producers — a policy tailwind but highly uncertain and not a near‑term catalyst. H.R. 7554 CARBON Act
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank trimmed its FY2027 EPS estimate (from $1.65 to $1.50), signaling some analyst caution on near‑term earnings power; that could cap upside if others follow with cuts. Scotiabank cuts FY2027 estimate (MarketBeat)

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $32.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. APA Corporation has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $33.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.04 and a 200-day moving average of $24.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 0.67.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA's payout ratio is 25.06%.

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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