27,802 APA Corporation $APA Shares Sold by M Holdings Securities Inc.

M Holdings Securities Inc. decreased its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 81.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,802 shares during the quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of APA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in APA during the 2nd quarter worth $1,173,231,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in APA by 1,726.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,176,000 after acquiring an additional 4,569,779 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in APA in the second quarter worth approximately $134,558,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in APA by 240.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,662,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of APA by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,626 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on APA from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank initiated coverage on APA in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upped their price target on APA from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.17.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $47.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.29. APA Corporation has a 52-week low of $23.06 and a 52-week high of $52.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.34. APA had a return on equity of 28.34% and a net margin of 23.08%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 30.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

APA declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About APA

APA Corporation is an independent energy company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include operating wells and related infrastructure, as well as evaluating and developing oil and natural gas resources. The company’s principal operating areas include the United States and Egypt. APA also has offshore exploration interests in Suriname, where it has worked with partners to assess resources in the region. APA traces its history to Apache Corporation, founded in 1954.