Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 26,701 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 140.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 45,701 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,701 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in APA were worth $1,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in APA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,173,231,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of APA by 1,726.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,176,000 after buying an additional 4,569,779 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the second quarter valued at approximately $134,558,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of APA by 240.5% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,662,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,727,000 after buying an additional 1,880,674 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of APA by 55.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,309,000 after buying an additional 1,473,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $46.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.04 and its 200-day moving average is $38.37. APA Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.06 and a 1-year high of $52.96.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.34. APA had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 28.34%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

APA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 16.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on APA from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of APA from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of APA from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.14.

APA Profile

APA Corporation is an independent energy company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include operating wells and related infrastructure, as well as evaluating and developing oil and natural gas resources. The company’s principal operating areas include the United States and Egypt. APA also has offshore exploration interests in Suriname, where it has worked with partners to assess resources in the region. APA traces its history to Apache Corporation, founded in 1954.