First Trust Advisors LP Buys 1,473,626 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 55.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,154,301 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,473,626 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in APA were worth $176,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of APA by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in APA by 49.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 3,578 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in APA by 43.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,092,000 after buying an additional 806,252 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in APA by 10.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 44,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 4,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in APA during the second quarter worth about $5,199,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised earnings estimates for APA in several future periods, including Q4 2027, Q2 2027, Q1 2027, Q4 2026, and FY2028, suggesting improved longer-term earnings potential.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research initiated or reiterated a Hold rating on APA and kept its FY2026 and Q2 2026 estimates in line with current expectations, which does not materially change the near-term outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Susquehanna lowered its price target on APA from $47 to $45, but maintained a positive rating, implying continued upside from current levels despite a slightly less bullish valuation view. Article: Susquehanna lowers APA price target
• Negative Sentiment: Some near-term earnings estimates were cut, including Q3 2026 and Q1 2028, which could temper enthusiasm if investors are focused on shorter-term results.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APA. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of APA in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research cut APA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded APA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Eight 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Up 1.1%

APA opened at $36.18 on Thursday. APA Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.86 and a 1-year high of $45.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.35.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 4.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

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.