ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 64.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 84,475 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,980 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $2,487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in APA by 131.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,704,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736,041 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in APA by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 15,705,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,367,570 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of APA by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004,555 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938,335 shares during the period. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP acquired a new position in APA during the first quarter valued at $28,593,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Up 6.0 %

Shares of APA opened at $24.53 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. APA Co. has a 12-month low of $22.72 and a 12-month high of $43.58. The firm has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 3.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on APA. Truist Financial increased their price target on APA from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on APA from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of APA from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on APA in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.38.

About APA

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.