State of Michigan Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in APA Corporation $APA

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 98,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in APA were worth $1,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APA. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in APA during the first quarter worth approximately $1,137,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of APA by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 25,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,672 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 2,638.8% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 25,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 24,699 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in APA by 34.2% during 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 period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in APA by 41.3% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after buying an additional 33,041 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on APA shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of APA from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of APA from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of APA from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on APA from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.58.

APA Trading Up 9.1%

APA stock opened at $23.64 on Friday. APA Corporation has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $25.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.38 and its 200 day moving average is $20.30. The company has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. APA had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 33.44%.

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.