Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 18.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,912 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,781 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in APA were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in APA by 3,303.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 268,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,637,000 after buying an additional 260,313 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in APA by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 3,306 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in APA by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 207,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,378,000 after buying an additional 21,630 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in APA by 34.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 269,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,665,000 after buying an additional 68,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in APA by 2,709.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Down 0.0%

APA stock opened at $20.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85, a PEG ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.23. APA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $29.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.40 and a 200-day moving average of $18.97.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 10.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.9%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on APA from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on APA from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on APA in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.61.

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.