Legal & General Group Plc Invests $17.45 Million in APA Corporation $APA

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 535,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,450,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APA. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in shares of APA by 520.8% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in APA in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its position in APA by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in APA in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in APA during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on APA from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of APA from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $39.00 price target on APA in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

APA Stock Performance

APA opened at $42.54 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.39. APA Corporation has a 1-year low of $21.57 and a 1-year high of $45.66. The company has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Company 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.