Empowered Funds LLC Invests $28.43 Million in APA Corporation $APA

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 872,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,433,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of APA. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in APA by 520.8% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in shares of APA in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in APA in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $42.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. APA Corporation has a 52-week low of $21.57 and a 52-week high of $45.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.61 and its 200 day moving average is $36.28.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on APA shares. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Roth Capital set a $39.00 price objective on APA in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens upped their target price on APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

About APA

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.