Ritholtz Wealth Management Boosts Stake in APA Corporation $APA

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 79.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 144,749 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,966 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in APA were worth $6,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 115.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in APA in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in APA in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in APA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in APA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of APA from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of APA stock opened at $33.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $11.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.33. APA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.74 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.57.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

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.