Johnson Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in APA Corporation $APA

Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 9,592.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,064 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,857 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in shares of APA by 520.8% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC grew 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 buying an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the first quarter worth $44,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on APA. Barclays upped their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of APA from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,072.40. This represents a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $35.77 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.74. APA Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $45.66. The firm has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.