Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 120,058 Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank reduced its stake in APA Corporation by 63.1% in the first quarter, dropping to 70,134 shares valued at approximately $1.47 million.
• APA Corporation reported a quarterly EPS of $1.06, which surpassed analyst expectations of $0.83, along with a 35.1% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.61 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 5.4% and a payout ratio of 35.97%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 63.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,134 shares of the company's stock after selling 120,058 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in APA were worth $1,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of APA by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,498,000 after acquiring an additional 850,052 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company's stock worth $219,016,000 after acquiring an additional 200,770 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of APA by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540,055 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in APA by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,297,871 shares of the company's stock worth $122,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in APA by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,025,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,947,000 after purchasing an additional 269,865 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,681,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,094,097. The company has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business's 50 day moving average price is $19.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.17. APA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $29.88.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.29. APA had a return on equity of 23.22% and a net margin of 9.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on APA from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $22.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of APA in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on APA from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.53.

APA Company Profile

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.