217,595 Shares in APA Corporation $APA Bought by Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 217,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,087,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $938,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of APA by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 80,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after buying an additional 37,180 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of APA by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 112,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after buying an additional 42,068 shares during the period. Prudential PLC grew its position in APA by 753.2% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 136,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,345,000 after buying an additional 120,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in APA by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 193,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,723,000 after buying an additional 32,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on APA. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Mizuho upgraded APA to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on APA from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $39.97 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.28 and a 200-day moving average of $35.06. The company has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. APA Corporation has a 52-week low of $19.96 and a 52-week high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.14%.

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.