Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 3,117,032 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 76.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,171,963 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,117,032 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $175,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in APA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in APA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in APA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $36.57 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.63. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.74 and a 52 week high of $45.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 5.18 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of APA from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of APA from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

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.