APA Corporation $APA Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,499,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 211,278 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.70% of APA worth $60,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APA. HUB Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in APA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Sunpointe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at $357,000. United Capital Management of KS Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the third quarter worth $1,214,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of APA by 132.0% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 38,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 22,006 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 9.2% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research raised its price target on APA to $45 (from $39), implying material upside versus recent levels — a clear bullish catalyst for the stock. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports for early March are internally inconsistent: filings claim a “large increase” but show 0 shares and NaN changes — effectively no actionable short-interest signal. This noisy data likely adds uncertainty rather than a clear bullish or bearish force.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ consensus rating remains a “Hold,” which signals mixed expectations from the sell-side and supports muted investor conviction. Analyst Consensus: Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotiabank published FY2026 earnings estimates for APA; without a clear beat/miss or material revision disclosed here, the update is informational and unlikely by itself to drive a directional move. Scotiabank Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies raised its target to $26 (from $22) — an upgrade in target level but still implying meaningful downside versus recent trade, which can exert bearish pressure on the stock. MarketScreener

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Capital One Financial lowered their price target on shares of APA from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research raised APA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho upped their target price on APA from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on APA from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.33.

APA Trading Down 2.4%

APA stock opened at $31.82 on Wednesday. APA Corporation has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $33.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97, a PEG ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.15.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 15.55%.APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. APA’s payout ratio is 25.06%.

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.