Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Holdings in APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in APA Corporation by 227.2% during the second quarter, holding a total of 98,145 shares valued at approximately $1.9 million.
• A variety of institutional investors have also significantly adjusted their shareholdings in APA, with some like GAMMA Investing LLC increasing their stake by an astonishing 3,303.0%.
• As of the last quarter, APA Corporation reported earnings of $0.87 per share, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.45, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 14.4%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 227.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,145 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,149 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in APA were worth $1,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in APA in the 4th quarter worth $1,721,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in APA by 3,303.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 268,194 shares of the company's stock worth $5,637,000 after buying an additional 260,313 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in APA by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 694,238 shares of the company's stock worth $14,593,000 after buying an additional 69,519 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in APA by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 84,971 shares of the company's stock worth $1,786,000 after buying an additional 4,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodstock Corp lifted its holdings in APA by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 267,035 shares of the company's stock worth $5,613,000 after buying an additional 24,692 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on APA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of APA to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.78.

APA Price Performance

APA opened at $24.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 1.29. APA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $27.48. The company's 50-day moving average price is $21.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. APA had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 20.98%. APA's quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. APA's dividend payout ratio is 33.44%.

About APA

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.